The Tohjo Incident
by Orzo
Summary: 50 years after Red, Blue, and Yellow. The Supercontinent of Tohjo, made up of Kanto and Johto is beginning to unravel as separatist factions from both sides of Mt. Silver call for sovereignty, autonomy, and war.
1. Part 0: Deep Sea Research Facility 02

0

[10:33 PM. Kanto Naval Vessel _Full Steam _en route to Deep Sea Research Facility 02, Joenn Sea, 73 miles off the coast of Johto]

If there was anything Lorelei did not mind, it was the cold. As the fierce winter winds of the Joenn Sea lashed rain and sleet onto the deck of the _Full Steam_, she merely tightened her coat against the wrinkles of her face and neck. Around her, deckhands and their stalwart Pokemon shouted through the storm. Before her, the faint silhouette of the facility could be seen through the storm. Age had not slowed her down; years spent as a member of the Elite Four of Indigo Plateau had hardened her to many of life's surmountable difficulties. Nearing seventy years of age, she still wielded much of her cool grace as she did in her youth.

A man stepped sheepishly to her left. He shook continuously even through his many layers. She did not acknowledge him at first, choosing instead to concentrate intensely on the materializing shape on the horizon. The man sneezed.

"How soon till we dock?" she asked the man. He soft voice cut through the howl of the wind like porcelain through glass.

"Not soon enough," he said through several emphatic sniffles. Lorelei did not respond. "I'm fine, by the way. In case you were wondering."

Lorelei adjusted her glasses, centering herself. The storm was larger than predicted, but nothing the captain couldn't reasonably handle. She had worked with him before. He was a good man—a man you could trust. _Not many of those around anymore, _she mused.

"Don't worry, I wasn't," she replied. "I thought I told you to dress in layers?"

"I did."

Lorelei could only chuckle. The man beside her was one Reginald Matthias, a younger man in his early twenties. Reginald had been Lorelei's ward for almost a year now, having acted as a mentor through the final stage of his training at the Ranger Academy in Blackthorn City. This mission would be Reginald's final mission with Lorelei; upon completion, he would be a bona fide Ranger, answering directly to Indigo Plateau. She rather liked the man. Reginald was built, yet lean, and his Hariyama was always dependable in a pinch. She could say with confidence that Reginald was ready.

"Has the facility attempted communications?" She asked. A flock of Pellipper with their Wingull in town flew desperately towards shelter. "No," he replied. The captain tried not too long ago. It's quiet as a tomb."

_Let's hope you're analogy proves false, Reginald._ "Have him try again."

Reginald nodded low. "With all due respect, Mistress Lorelei, the captain has tried multiple times, all with the same result. Either no one's home or no one's picking up. However, with this storm—."

"Irrelevant," she cut in. "All deep sea facilities are equipped with instruments capable of sending and receiving in conditions much worse than this. No, something's wrong."

"Excuse me?" Reginald asked politely. He paused, readjusted his coats. "This isn't a normal code check and tongue lashing/knuckle rapping routine, is it?"

Lorelei grit her teeth and for the first time in years began to feel cold. "Two days ago, we received a report that this facility had seen unmarked fishing boats crowding the area."

"Two days?"

"Indigo did not place much weight in the report. It took two days for them to process the damn thing."

"So what's the plan?"

Lorelei strained against the wind to focus the facility in her view. No lights, no visible machinery movement, no communications. "The plan is to follow my lead." Reginald barely had any time to react as Lorelei leapt from the railing of the ship, casting a pokeball as she dove. In a brilliant flash of light, a mighty Lapras crashed into the whirling sea. Landing gracefully on the grey shell of its back, Lorelei beckoned to Reginald. "I said follow my lead!"

Reginald cursed under his breath and Lorelei watched him flail over the edge onto Lapras's back. "We're going in ourselves." She pat the Lapras on her neck and bid her speed. In a second, the pokemon sped through the waves. Lorelei barely made out the confused shouts of the men on the ship as they raced towards the facility. She turned her neck to check on Reginald who was fiercely gripping a protrusion on the shell. "Just a little farther," she cried. Reginald managed a thumbs-up.

Lorelei and her Lapras had weathered rougher seas than thus, yet Lorelei could not help but feel every wave break against Lapras, every shard of ice that reddened her old skin. Something was _wrong._ Lorelei had dealt with things like this before: missions gone awry, a trainer with a god-complex, a crime lord, but nothing had ever set her on edge quite like the feeling of dread she felt as she approached the facility. She shook her head, determined not to let any of this get to her head. Failure was not an option. Failure would mean she was slowing down, and she could not afford anyone at the Plateau thinking she was slowing down. But in truth, Lorelei felt old. She could feel the years of stress in every joint and wrinkle. She could feel her body protesting at the years of activity she had put it through, past an age where anyone would consider her time served. She could feel it, and she was cold.

_Stay strong. Don't crumble right now. It's probably nothing. Can't let the boy see it get to you. It's nothing. It's nothing._

But it was something, and she knew it.

No one was patrolling when the two rangers scaled the face of the facility. Lorelei returned her Lapras to her ball. "No one's home," Reginald said. Lorelei straightened her coat, a deep maroon. She was soaking, and she could feel the ice water pervading her clothes. Reginald was taking on a slight blue tint as well. "Should we knock?" He asked, half in jest. Lorelei knew that, like herself, Reginald worked better with a plan. This was not part of the plan.

There was a door not far from where they landed. It was unlocked. Lorelei heard the sigh of relief from Reginald. "Not bad. Busting open would've been a lot louder."

"Everything's louder with you, Reginald."

Reginald shook himself like a dog and regained his composure, his attitude shifting from one of carelessness to one of determination. "Just a bit of good fortune, is all, Mistress."

_Good fortune,_ she thought, _or a trap that we're all too willing to walk into?_

The facility was exactly like a tomb. There were no lights, and when Reginald shut the door behind them, the thick steel walls muffled all noise of the storm. The darkness was absolute; no dim emergency lights, no minute multicolored bips of machinery. Reginald reached at his belt and released his Flareon whose hot body gave off a faint orange glow. "What are we looking for?" He whispered. Even in the silence, the whisper echoed throughout the facility.

"I don't know," she responded.

"What is this place even for?"

Lorelei willed her eyes to adapt to the inky darkness. "File said something about the migratory patterns of Wailren."

"Exciting," Reginald said.

"To each his own. We can talk about Wailren and their habits in detail once we've left this place."

Reginald knew better than to respond. Lorelei had shifted into a persona not often seen, even during her time as a member of the Elite Four, she was never this focuses, never as guided as she was on a mission. Reginald was one of the few with that privilege.

They set to checking the various rooms, and every room turned out the same: abandoned, it appeared, hastily, but without signs of a struggle. As if everyone had simply decided at once to leave. "I don't like this," Reginald said after the sixth consecutive office. "You feel it too?" Lorelei asked. Reginald stopped to warm himself next to his Flareon. "Huh? Feel what?" Lorelei said nothing and walked out of the office.

They came to the cafeteria after several more rooms turned up the same results. _By now, the _Full Steam_ should be circling the facility. Makes getting out of here if anything goes south a bit easier, _Lorelei thought. Reginald had his ear to the door. "I hear something. Shuffling. It's slow. Definitely not someone walking.

"A pokemon?" Lorelei asked.

"If it is, it's very small," he replied. "Damn, the door's locked."

Lorelei nodded at Reginald, who nodded in turn. He motioned to his Flareon which began to slowly and precisely let out a stream of fire that began to melt the lock. The small sound of the lock failing resonated throughout the halls. Reginald inched the door open. "Mistress, I think I found the staff."

Lorelei cautiously stepped across the threshold. Inside, all uniformly bound and gagged, Lorelei made out in the dim light at least three dozen or so people, dressed in lab coats and warm sweaters.

"What is going on..." Lorelei mouthed. Reginald rushed to the nearest captive, a young man. He undid the gag and binds. The other staff members looked on in a panic, as if fearing they would not be freed. The young man was shaking. Reginald did his best to comfort him. "What's your name?" he asked. "What's going on here?"

"My brother, tell my brother…" The man seemed inconsolable. Reginald inspected the man. Dark burns mapped his body.

Reginald turned to Lorelei. "Two days ago, you said?"

_No…these people…No, no. They can't have been like this for two days. Surely Indigo would have at least checked back after they received the report. Oh, god. No…two days._

Someone from behind the two rangers began clapping. "This was supposed to be their grave, but I suppose you can share it as well."

Lorelei flashed around, her hand already at her belt. As the man stepped into the light of Reginald's Flareon, she flinched—for the briefest moment, she hesitated.

"You…"

Suddenly, she and Reginald were flung back. Lorelei struck her head on the corner of a metal table. Beside her, Reginald had collapsed. Before she lost consciousness, she saw power restored to a single monitor.

1:00

0:59

0:58


	2. Part 1: Silph

1

[1:13 PM. Saffron City. Silph Co. Head Quarters boardroom. 30th floor. The next day.]

Dorian Silph, president of Silph Corporation, sat at the far end of the long, mahogany table. He waited, passive and expectant, as the tall man across the table removed his coat and accepted a glass of water from an attendant. The man handed his hat to the attendant who bowed and exited the yawning room.

"I assume you have the initial damage report?" the president asked.

The tall man cleared his throat and reached for his brief case. Silph caught sight of three pokeballs neatly fastened to the top. The man removed a nondescript manila envelope and shut the briefcase. Silph waited for a few seconds as the tall man flipped through the packet. "Today, Grayson," the president interjected.

Grayson nodded and turned to the back page. "My apologies, Mr. President. Your men were very thorough."

"That is what I pay them for," Silph said. "And what I pay _you _for, if you recall."

"How could I forget your generosity?" Grayson creased the packet along the staple. Both Grayson and Silph were men of an earlier age. At ninety, Silph had built an empire to his name. At fifty-four, Grayson had become a most useful majordomo. Both were men who respected power, and both men were powerful in their own way. "The follow up by your men confirm the initial report of the KNV _Full Steam_: ninety-eight point six percent structural and mechanical damage. The facility is, by all accounts, unsalvageable. Total damages exceed seven hundred-twenty million…"

"Casualties?"

Grayson did not pause. "One hundred percent Silph Co. employee mortality."

At this, Silph leaned back in his wheelchair. "Have my secretary prepare a condolence package for the families and begin working on the inevitable insurance claims."

"Of course, Mr. President."

"And the Rangers that the League sent out?"

It was Grayson's turn to pause. "The younger one's body was recovered by the _Full Steam_ along with the other."

"What is the status of the other one?"

"Critical condition. Currently being treated at the Olivine Hospital. Mr. President, I believe you may want to see who the other one was." Grayson slid the envelope across the table. Silph adjusted his glasses. "Lorelei?" Grayson nodded solemnly. "What's the official response from the Plateau?"

"The official statement made by the League spokesman is that every effort is being made by the League to uncover the terrorists that perpetrated this heinous act."

"And the unofficial response?"

"My sources inside Indigo Plateau tell me they are calling a full Tohjo council meeting."

"It's been years since they've all convened. Why now? A full council is only called to discuss matters of international security."

Grayson shifted and fidgeted with his now sweating glass."The Kanto representative is claiming they have information that implicates quote: "radical Johto independents" in the explosion."

"Have you seen this evidence? On what grounds is Werner basing this accusation?"

"I have not been able to ascertain that as of now, Mr. President. Werner is a close-lipped man."

"Do you trust him?" Silph asked.

Grayson thought for a moment. "No, but he has his uses. If what he says is true about the Johto Independents, I believe he can keep a good leash on Rena."

"Yes, Rena. And what was the Johto Representative's response to Werner's accusation?"

"There wasn't one. My guess is she is saving face until the council meeting."

Silph began to cough a violent, solid wretch. He reached into his coat pocket for a handkerchief. Grayson watched in silence. "Yes, that is wise," the president said through his cough. "Perhaps the smartest thing she has done in her entire career. When is this council convening?"

"Tomorrow morning, Mr. President, at the Indigo Plateau."

"Good, good. My grandson, Ian, you've met him before haven't you?" Grayson nodded. "He tells me he was last stationed in Vermillion. He's with the Rangers. See to it that he makes his way onto Werner's entourage. The usual methods should suffice."

"Of course, Mr. President." He began to gather his things into his briefcase. "Consider it done. Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm here."

"Yes, yes, please, if you could, wheel me out onto the balcony. I find myself in need of fresh air."

Grayson stood and made his way towards Silph, carefully unlocking the wheels. The door to the balcony slid silently open as the two old men walked towards it. Outside on the balcony, from the thirtieth floor, Grayson could see all of Saffron, Silph's Kingdom— the shining golden center of commerce. A Tailow perched itself on the hand rail. It gave a quick glance at the men before flying off.

"Marvelous isn't it?" Silph said.

Grayson stepped from behind the wheelchair and rested on the handrail. "Simply breathtaking."

"I came from nothing, you know. And here I am; living proof of the tenacity of man." He entered into a second coughing spasm. Grayson moved to assist the frail man, but Silph waved him away as the spasm passed. "Well, mostly living."

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to this city. Sometimes I think this city is the only thing keeping me going," he said into the afternoon breeze.

"You've served her admirably thus far, Mr. President. I see no reason why that should change."

"But I feel, my friend, that everything is changing. And perhaps two old men like ourselves are foreign to this new world. Yes, everything is changing."

Grayson reached into his briefcase and released his Honchcrow. The haughty black bird stretched in the sun. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Silph watched him fly over the golden city towards Vermilion.


	3. Part 2: Vyro and the Electric Master

2

[4:36 PM. Vermillion City. Outside the Vermillion City Gym. The same day.]

The masked man stood atop the roof of the gym and shouted to the heavens and all who would listen: an off duty nurse, two couples on a stroll near the water, and the groundskeeper to the gym.

"BEHOLD! I, the Dark Lord Vyro, heir to the nefarious Team Rocket, shall now drain this city of its electricity! What can your pathetic Gym Leader do when he is stripped of his power? All that remains for me to enact my sinister plan is to merely turn on this machine! When activated, I will draw all the electricity in the city to my command and you, puny citizens of the new Vyro Empire, will know true terror!"

What little crowd he had gathered began to disperse.

"IGNORANT FOOLS! For your insolence I revoke the luxury of begging for mercy! Witness true power!"

Vyro cackled maniacally and flipped the red and unnecessarily large switch. The power of the city fluttered, then the machine sparked, coughed a thick cloud of ozone, and died.

A young man stepped from the gym. "Looks to me as if your machine there worked perfectly."

"WHO DARES SPEAK TO THE MIGHTY VYRO?"

"Yeah, when you were designing this superweapon, I guess you forgot to have it not absorb its own power." At the appearance of the young man, an even larger crowd of people began to form. The young man was dressed in white. His sharp, platinum hair cut the light of the first strands of twilight. "Maybe next time, you might call someone who knows a thing or two about electricity."

"SUCH WORDS ARE TREASON IN MY NEW EMPIRE. NOIVERN, ANNIHILATE THIS HERETIC."

From behind Vyro, the bat-like form of a Noivern flashed upwards. In an instant, the glass of the Gym's windows shattered. The crowd cried out in unison and haphazardly dove for cover. A few seconds later, the shriek came, an earsplitting screech that seemed to shake the very ground. Citizens around the young man began running around, some clutching bleeding ears. Vyro continued to cackle.

Wordlessly and before anyone could even see, a Magnezone had materialized in a red flash at the feet of the man. Vyro could not react before the magnet pokemon had called forth a mighty thunderclap directly above it, striking with deafening force the screeching Noivern. Vyro rushed to return the charred pokemon. And before it was even completely in its ball, he found himself face to face with the young man, hovering two stories off the ground on top of the Magnezone. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Something in Vyro's composure snapped. "Who are you? You must be a titan of a trainer to beat the unbeatable Noivern!"

The young man smirked. "I am the true master of electricity and I am called. Kai. I am the leader of the Vermillion City Gym and so it falls to me to protect my city and all those who call it home from those who would seek to harm her. Go home. There is no more for you here; you are completely outclassed."

Vyro reached for a new ball at his pocket. "FOOL, I AM ONLY JUST BEGINNING. FLY CROBAT AND RAIN ACID ONTO THIS 'GYM LEADER!' MELT THE STEEL OF HIS COMPANION!"

Vyro's Crobat appeared and fired a noxious ball of gunk at the Magnezone. Vyro watched in horror as the acid merely slid off the steel and onto the ground below where the grass sizzled and died. Kai said nothing as the Magnezone effortlessly fried the Crobat, wracking the frail bat with lethal voltage.

"SO PERHAPS YOUR SPACE METAL CAN RESIST EARTHLY ACIDS, BUT ALL METAL MELTS!"

A menacing Houndoom appeared beside Vyro. Its dark skin rippled over its muscles. Flames licked at its snout as it breathed. At this, Kai took notice. "You're learning," he said with a smile, the kind of half-smile a truant student sees in his teacher's eyes. Kai leapt up from the Magnezone onto the roof while also releasing his Lanturn. The lantern fish hovered in the air before striking the Houndoom with a powerful jet of water. Whimpering, the hound pokemon returned to its ball.

"SORCERY."

"It's over. I gave you a chance to leave. You had done nothing but disturb the peace of my city, but now I cannot overlook your intent. By threatening me you have sealed your fate."

Kai caught sight of a man walk from the Ranger Lodge across the way. "Ah, excellent timing, Mr. Silph. I believe I have something for you."

Ian Silph looked up to the roof of the gym. "Hey, I recognize you. You're that numbskull who tried to make the Mirage Island disappear."

"WHAT? I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. HOWEVER THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT IDEA."

"No, no, you're definitely the same guy. Hoenn? Two years ago? I was doing my final stint over at Ever Grande. I thought we got you?"

Kai returned the Lanturn to its ball. "I believe you can take it from here."

"HA! YOU'VE LET YOU GUARD DOWN! NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE MY ESCAPE." Both Kai and Ian looked at Vyro who tossed down smokescreen and vanished into the air.

"Neat trick," Kai said.

"Yeah, I guess he's good at that."

Ian set to work drawing up the necessary paperwork. Seated at his desk, the youngest Silph sat hunched. His brown hair frequently fell into his eyes. There was a knock at his office door. An old gentleman stepped in, removed his hat and coat and hung them on the rack. "Mr. Kai said I would find you here."

Ian stood and embraced the man. "Grayson, good to see you."

Grayson patted the youngest Silph on the back. "It's been too long, Mr. Silph."

Ian released the man and offered him a chair, but Grayson opted to stand. "What brings you to Vermillion?"

"Business, I'm afraid."

"Grandpa got you running around? Is he trying to acquire the SS Anne?"

"Mr. Silph, your family already owns the SS Anne."

Ian gave a small chuckle. "Oh, right."

Grayson cracked his neck and rested his briefcase on Ian's desk. "My business here concerns you."

The Ranger perked, "Oh?"

"Yesterday, one of your Grandfather's research facilities off the coast of Johto was attacked. The facility and all its staff were lost. Two Rangers were deployed to the facility in answer to an earlier request. One of them perished. The other is in critical condition."

Ian took a moment to focus. "That's horrible, but, forgive my asking, how does this concern me?"

"The Pokemon League has called a Tohjo council for tomorrow in order to discuss this recent act of terrorism. You will be part of Kanto Representative Werner's entourage." Grayson's voice was even and firm. You leave for Viridian in the morning. This evening, if possible."

The youngest Silph mulled this over. "I suppose I don't get a say in this."

With calculated reluctance, Grayson merely shook his head in the negative. "I'll pack my things."

"Excellent. I must return to Saffron, your grandfather is taking this turn of events very seriously." Grayson began to leave when Ian stopped him. "Why does he want me there? Grandpa never does anything without a reason."

"He never explicitly made anything of that nature apparent to me. However, if I were to guess, I would wager he wants you there because he cannot himself. Much is going on at Indigo Plateau. A Tohjo Council is a serious event."

Ian turned to begin organizing his things, making a mental checklist of what he would need. "What should I know about—"

And Grayson was gone.


	4. Part 3: Professor Oak

3

[3:44 AM. Cerulean Cape. Outside Cerulean City. One year ago.]

It was about to rain.

"I didn't think you would come," an older woman said. She looked out toward the sea. The clouds were beginning to darken. The woman ran five long fingers through silvering hair and sighed. A wave crashed on the dark rocks of the coast. The air was saturated with salt. She breathed freely.

A younger man with a traveled face and brown hair walked up behind the old woman. The man adjusted his coat to shield himself for the wind as it picked up.

"Of course I came, Lorelei," he said. "Anything for an old friend."

Lorelei shifted and smiled to herself. "I'm sorry it took something like this to see you again, Blue." Blue cracked his neck and shivered. He was cold, despite his coat. It was too dark for this time of night. Blue was uneasy. "It was the nature of your call that intrigued me."

The woman laughed. "The Krabby and Kingler are gone from the shore, look you can see where they left their nests."

"Fascinating, Lorelei," Blue rubbed his hands together.

"They know that something's wrong." Lorelei took a cigarette from her pocket, and Blue shot her a look that she simply shrugged off. She blew smoke into the night air. "Have you talked to Red lately?"

Blue took the cigarette from her old hands and took a small drag before throwing it over the shore. "No." Blue lightly tapped Lorelei on the shoulder and pointed out to the horizon. A faint purple haze hung over the ocean. "I assume you know something about this."

Blue looked into Lorelei's eyes. Where once he saw life and vigor, he now saw a grey tiredness; the same eyes that had once terrified him oh so many years ago when he first met her in the Indigo Plateau now looked more like a concerned mother. "Not as much as I'd like. This is the third night, and Misty is away on business."

"Well, I guess it's a good time to find out." Blue released a monstrous Blastoise into the water which had intensified since last he checked. Deftly, he leapt from the cliff onto the back of his Blastoise. He held out a hand to Lorelei, still on the cliff. "You coming?"

"Oh, Blue, you make me feel so young again." There was a wicked grin on her face and she set free her Lapras and landed on her back as she had done countless times. The rain started to fall. "Let's go," she said, and they both raced toward the purple horizon. The haze turned into a cloud and the farther away they were from the shore, the harsher the maelstrom became. Lightning connected the clouds and the sky, and in the middle of it all there was a tiny island. Blue could just barely see the silhouette of a man on the island, coat billowing.

"Professor Oak? Professorrrrrr?"

[8:00 PM. Olivine City. Inside the Olivine City Hospital. One year later.]

The voice pulled Blue back from that night. He stood next to the bed where Lorelei rested. The nurses had told him what they could; she was in a coma now. Blue gripped the rails attached to the bed till his knuckles were white. She looked peaceful—halfway between sleep and death. Her brown hair had been shaved to treat the burns that covered her body. Her shattered glasses rested on the nightstand next to three perfectly silent pokeballs.

"Professor are you in here? Where are you?" a girl's voice echoed from the hallway.

Blue sighed. _You're the only one left who saw this happen._ He thought to himself. _You have to wake up. _"In here, Mia. Lorelei's room."

The girl rounded the corner. She was a tall girl, yet stood firm. When they met, Blue thought she might topple at the slightest gust. He was wrong. The girl had spunk; several months ago, she had trekked by herself from Olivine to Viridian City in the hopes of learning from Blue as a master of the ground type. In his youth, perhaps, Blue much preferred battling other trainers, but now, as he approached his sixty first birthday, he felt it better to devote more time to the family business down in Pallet. Mia would one day make a formidable Gym Leader, she simply needed guidance.

"There you are, Professor."

"Did you say hello to your family?" Blue asked.

"Yes. They asked about you. I told them you were doing fine. You are doing fine, right? You've been in here since we got here this morning…"

Blue released his grip of the rails and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, Mia. I'm fine."

"Who was she?" Mia asked. Barely thirteen, she still had much of her childlike curiosity, a trait that Blue admired.

"A dear friend."

Mia glanced at the burned body of Lorelei covered in gauze. "Will she be okay?"

Blue placed a hand on Lorelei's forehead. She did not respond. "I hope so, Mia. I hope so."

"Did you love her?"

Blue couldn't help but chuckle. That was a typical Mia question—straight to the point, even when she did not know the point herself."

"Yes, I suppose I did love her, once. A lifetime ago."

Mia looked distraught. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," Blue said as he ruffled her long brown hair. "She's tough. She'll make it. Olivine has a wonderful hospital."

"My older sister's a nurse here!"

The old man smiled. "That makes me feel much better, little one. Thank you."

"When are we leaving for Indigo Plateau?" she asked.

"In the morning, if that generous offer from your parents still stands."

Her face lit up and she grabbed his arm. "Of course! Come on! They're making dinner!"

After dinner, and after Mia and her family had gone to sleep, Blue stepped out from the house to enjoy the night air. Olivine City was quiet at night; the only noise was the soft, rhythmic beat of the waves against the harbor. The lighthouse stood steadfast, combing the sea for anything dangerous. Now, Blue was alone.

Except for the man in a hat and coat walking slowly towards him.

"You're out late, stranger," Blue said. The years had dulled his harsh exterior.

The man continued walking. As the beam of the lighthouse caught him, Blue saw he was an older man, about his age, with a scruffy mustache, brown hat and coat, carrying a leather briefcase.

"You weren't supposed to bring the girl."

Blue tensed. There was something sinister about the man, something malignant. Blue reached instinctively for a pokeball at his waist. In a second, a large black bird dove from the night sky straight at Blue. The bird connected and sent Blue tumbling to the cool ground. The bird let out a deep caw and ascended into the night once more. Blue's entire body ached. Now, switched in the mindset of a former League Champion, he could hear the bird's massive wings beat against the sky. He called forth his Golem, a hulking brute of a Pokemon.

"You do not wish to fight me," the man said evenly.

"That was a dirty trick you pulled there. But I won't fall for it again!" As he said this, the lighthouse illuminated the dark bird mid-plunge as it rocketed towards Blue once more. "Golem! Clip that bird with you Stone Edge!"

The Golem leapt into the air, catching the bird scant inches before it connected with Blue again. The bird cried and flew back up. Golem spun in mid-air, adjusting its weight to return to its trainer's side. Before it could land, a thorny green lasso caught the stubby leg of Golem and hurled it into the ground, utterly pulverizing the street. The Golem moaned, and Blue flinched.

"A Grass Knot?" From the shadows behind the house, a mischievous Heliolisk slinked out towards the man.

"Stay close to that girl of yours, Oak," he said. The bird swooped down once more, only this time, it came for the man and he disappeared into the night.


	5. Part 4: Indigo Plateau

4

[9:16 AM. Indigo Plateau. Kanto Representative Werner's Assigned Quarters. The next day.]

The small room was packed with Werner's things and attendants. A thick haze hung in the room from Werner's trademark cigar that stung Ian Silph's throat and made his eyes water. Everyone seemed busy, running in place. Several attendants talked in hushed voices over telephones; others poured over reams of what Ian could only imagine as being mind-numbing legalese. Ian bowed slightly to the pinstriped Plateau woman who lead him to the room, and she left without a word, closing the door behind her.

"Ah, there's the sprout. Good of you to show up." Every word was coated in smoke. "Silph was it? Like Silph Co.? Must be nice to come from money. Some of us had to work to get where we are."

There was no opening for Ian to respond; Werner simply kept on talking. "You're new here so that makes you the sprout. Jim was our old sprout but now we've got a new sprout so that makes you the new sprout. Do you follow me?"

Ian nodded meekly.

"Good. Good. Quick learner, that's what we like around her, isn't it, gang?"

The crowd of attendants did not look up from their tasks but all said in unison: "Yes, sir."

"This one here is Moira." He motioned towards a woman of about twenty. She's my personal aid, and your grandfather says you're my personal aid, so I guess that makes you partners. Go crazy. Get comfy. We might be here a while. Last time they pulled this song and dance routine we were cramped up in here for almost sixteen hours, weren't we gang?"

"Yes, sir."

"So go on, play nice. Introduce yourself to the lady. She doesn't bite unless you want her too." Werner erupted into laughter. The smoke from his mouth giving him the impression of a very large factory.

She was a beautiful woman, Ian thought. That much was certain. She was not dressed for the cold of Mt. Silver. Ian himself was wearing a conservative fleece jacket, provided by the League and a neutral scarf. Moira, on the other hand, was dressed seemingly for a summer holiday to the Seafoam isles, in comparison. She rose from her chair as if slowly pulled by stings. Ian gazed into her deep eyes, transfixed.

"Call me 'Mo,' for short," she said.

"Y-you too," he replied. Werner chuckled to himself, just loud enough for Ian to hear.

"Let's go outside. It's too cramped in here," Moira said. "I need some air."

Ian stood rigid as she straightened her outfit and left the room. Only after she had crossed the threshold, did he allow himself to exhale. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" Werner asked over a stack of documents. Ian pulled at his scarf.

"Fresh air, yes. I need some air."

He found her leaning against the wall of the entrance facing the maw that was victory road. Howls could be heard from inside. Ian shivered.

"Did you ever come through there?" she asked.

"Not of my own volition, no. Sometimes the League would—"

"I tried when I was fifteen. Made it through, too," she said, unaware or uncaring of the fact that she had interrupted Ian. "Lost to Porter, though, in the first match. That man can hustle."

"I'm sorr—"

"Let's battle."

Ian hesitated. "What?"

"I challenge you," Moira declared. "The Pokemon league rules state—"

"I know what the rules state."

Moira had a wicked smile. "Then let's battle. You must be at list a bit strong to be able to work for Werner."

"Well, if you insist. Don't think I will hold back because you're a girl!"

Moira chortled into her hand. "You're kidding, right? You practice that line in the mirror before you go to bed?"

"I didn't mean—"

She threw a pokeball into the air. "Time's wasting let's get to it!" In a flash of brilliant red, a massive form of a Charizard appeared."

"I guess I have no choice then," he said. "Go! Electivire!"

The two titans stared off, neither trainer opting for the first move. After a pregnant pause, Moira moved first. In a blur, the Charizard hurled itself at the Electivire, talons bared. The Electivire was not fast enough to dodge in time, so the Charizard ripped into the pokemon's skin. It howled in pain; Ian braced himself.

"Now's your chance, hit it with a Thunderpunch!" The dragon, too entrenched in the Electivire, caught the full brunt of the supercharged punch and shrieked in rage as the creature threw lethal voltage through the Charizard's body. As it belched columns of flames, Moira returned it. In its place she called out her own Nidoking. As it materialized, it stomped viciously onto the ground, spitting the earth. Ian gasped and hurried to return the Electivire. In one swift movement, he sent out his own Skarmory, the metallic bird glittering in the morning light as its chrome body caught the new sun's rays. As the ground quaked, Skarmory flew safely above it.

"He looks pretty strong, but I doubt he has enough strength to crack Skarmory's armor."

Moira smirked. "Good thing he doesn't have to."

He didn't have time to be perplexed as the Nidoking spewed a massive column of flame at the Skarmory, hitting it dead on. Ian gasped and retuned the burnt bird to the safety of its ball.

"I guess it's up to you now." In a flash, a diminutive Pancham stood stalwart against the hulking dinosaur.

At this, Moira couldn't help but laugh. "That's it? That's you ace in the hole? Please, tell me you're not serious. You're, what, twenty? Twenty-one? And you still haven't evolved that thing? Some trainer you are. I bet it doesn't even respect you."

The Pancham looked up at Ian expectantly. "I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you. We've been through a lot together."

"Real heartwarming. Let's just finish this." She motioned for her Nidoking to strike the panda with all its force. This time, Ian was faster, and before the nidoking could change direction, the Pancham was on the dinosaur's back, fist raised. He brought the fist down in a bone-shattering punch that pinned the Nidoking to the ground. Pancham glowed.

"What? A Power-Up Punch?"

"I doubt your Nidoking can take another one of those. Not after the first one."

She scoffed. "Whatever. Nidoking is more than a match for that runt."

The Pancham raised his fist once more, this time confident in his chance to win. "Take it back."

The two trainers locked eyes, neither one conceding an inch.

Something caught Pancham's eye, and it leapt off the back of the Nidoking just in time to avoid the massive stone column that struck the dinosaur uninhibited. Both trainers cried out in unison. The Nidoking was clearly pinned. Groaning and gnashing helplessly underneath the colossal pillar.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

The taunt came from a hulking brute of a man, clean shaven head and at least three hundred pound of muscle underneath the ripped leather jacket. A lumbering Conkledurr laughed beside him. "I was aiming for you two lovebirds, but I guess the Nido-wimp will do for now. Conkledurr's still got one more." The Conkledurr lifted the second pillar and hoisted it above its head. Before the stunned trainers could move, it hurled its missile like a javelin. Moira cried and ran towards Ian, who gripped her tightly.

But the inescapable thud never came. Ian peeked out over Moira's shoulder to see a man standing sword drawn with both halves of the pillar to either side of him. The man had an aged face but he did not look a day over thirty. His stern eyes were capped by thick eyebrows, and tamed mutton chops traced the sides of his face. He wore a plain white shirt with the top of a robe hanging by his waist. The robe spread out into a flowing cone at his feet. A red cloth sash held three pokeballs and the sheath to his sword, which he quietly returned. "I told you I would not tolerate any more of your antics, Cain. Not before the Summit."

The burly man called Cain scoffed. "You never were very fun." He returned the Conkledurr to its pokeball which unpinned the Nidoking. Moira hurried to treat the broken dinosaur. Ian watched Cain slink off into Victory Road.

The robed man turned to the two trainers. "Are you both all right?"

Ian replied first as he returned the Pancham to his ball. "I am. Her Nidoking isn't, I think."

The man gazed at Moira and her battered companion. "The nurses inside can treat him, come. Let us go inside." He helped Moira to her feet and walked her towards the door.

From Victory Road, Ian could hear the sound of Cain and his Conkledurr laughing.


	6. Part 4-2: ?

4.5

[?. ?. ?. The previous evening.]

Through the ringing of his splitting headache, Vyro could hear the sound of deliberate and even footsteps. He began to open his eyes but still couldn't see; something was covering his head. The footsteps stopped. "Awake, are we?" an older voice asked. Vyro did not respond. "Maybe not all the way." Vyro choked and sputtered as the man threw a bucket of cold water onto his face. "Hope that helps."

Vyro tried to speak but found he was gagged underneath. He began to panic, rocking back and forth in the chair he was tied to. The man put a hand on his shoulder. "Quiet down, kid. I'm not here to hurt you." Vyro's breathing slowed and he began to relax. Just as his heart rate returned to something considered normal, he felt the sharp thud in his stomach of a swift punch radiate like shattered glass throughout his body. Vyro cried out in pain through his gag. "I'm here to break you."

"I saw you today, back in Vermillion City. You took on that boy and lost." The man ripped the bag of Vyro's head. Vyro flinched in the light. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out the image of an older man, with a thick moustache and rolled sleeves. A coat and hat hung up on a pipe; a briefcase rested on a desk. "Even a fool such as you has uses." He cracked his knuckles and threw a wicked right hook at Vryo's face. The masked supervillan whimpered as his face began to swell up. "And my employer has need of someone of your…tenacity."

Vyro's nose was bleeding. The man moved to eye level with the captive. Vyro looked into his eyes and saw nothing, not even age.

"What do you know about bombs?"


	7. Part 5: The Tohjo Summit

5

[11:22 AM. Arbitrator Milo Cassius's Chamber, Indigo Plateau. After the encounter with Cain.]

"This is an outrage!"

Werner's voice rang out throughout the spacious chamber. The Arbitrator of Indigo Plateau, Milo Cassius, sat, hands knit, at his desk at the far end. A thin red line delineated the area where Werner and his troupe could stand, and where Rena and her Johto entourage were located. Rena stood meekly, like a child hauled into the schoolmaster's office. Her entourage was furiously typing, calling, and reading. On the Kanto side, no one said a word but Werner.

"My aides were viciously attacked without provocation!" Werner thundered. He leveled a meaty finger towards Rena. "Savagely by one of her lackeys! No doubt with the intent of leaving us vulnerable! Though, I shouldn't have expected any better from the region who wantonly destroys without remorse honest business peoples' livelihoods."

A fire kindled in Rena's eyes, and if not for the powerful gaze of Cassius, she might have thrown herself at Werner in rage. "Enough," boomed Cassius. "We will not discuss matters slated for the Tohjo Summit in this hearing. The matter at hand, as I understand it, is that you, Werner, wish to bring charges against Rena, for reckless assault and damages sustained by trainers in your care. Is this correct?"

"Absolutely."

Ian stepped forward. "Wait, Arbitrator. It wasn't. It was that brute, Cain."

The Johto side paused, then continued what they were doing. Rena dropped her defensive stance gradually. "Cain, you said?"

"Yes he ambushed Mo—Moira—and I as were having a friendly match."

Rena's face fell, and she turned toward the Arbitrator. "Cain is my brother, Arbitrator. I take full responsibility for his actions."

Cassius waved her aside. "That will not be necessary. The testimony provided by Santiago states that this Cain departed into Victory Road."

"That is true, Arbitrator."

"And where is this Moira now?"

Ian fidgeted. "Last I saw her, she left for the hospital here in the Plateau."

"I see. Werner: every effort will be made to find the aggressor. Rena: The Pokemon League cannot fault you or your entourage for the actions of one. However, in this volatile clime, I would do well to ensure none of your own cast your region in a negative light. I have been informed that the Tohjo Summit will convene in two hours time. Representatives from Johto: unfortunately, to appease the peace in Indigo Plateau, I must restrict you from leaving your designated area until the time of the Summit. An attendant will be sent for you at the appropriate time. This arbitration is adjourned."

Werner stormed out. Ian left with the crowd of mixed attendants. As the crowd dispersed, he found himself alone in the antechamber. His pokegear rang—a message from Grayson. All it said was the word. "Hospital."

Ian brushed open the doors to the waiting room. It was mostly empty, save for an old man in a brown coat and hat comforting a girl of about twenty. "Grayson, what are you doing here?"

Grayson gave the girl a last reassuring pat on the back. "I was on my way to say good luck from myself and your grandfather when I ran into this girl. I don't think her Nidoking is going to make it."

"Oh, no." Ian ran up to where Moira was seated. "Moira, what's going on?"

She was sobbing; the tears caught her makeup and smeared down her cheeks. "My Nidoking, Ian. They don't think it can pull through. Ian, that man killed my Nidoking. He killed it!"

Grayson stepped aside to give them space. "We don't know that for sure. I'm positive they're doing everything in their power to save him. Trust me."

She shook her head. "I'll kill him," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?"

"I said I'LL KILL HIM."

Ian stepped back. "Don't do anything rash, now, not in this place. Not now," Grayson advised.

She stared daggers at the aging man. "Who even are you, old man? Some creep? Huh? Do you get off on this, you sick freak?" Grayson was unfazed.

"Mo, calm down. It's okay. He's a friend. You can trust him."

"I can't trust anyone! If we hadn't battled, everything would be okay. If we hadn't battled, my pokemon would be fine! Because of you, my Nidoking is dead!"

"Not dead, dying," Grayson, pointed.

"GET OUT OF HERE."

Ian looked at Grayson who only nodded. "I will see you later, Grayson. Good luck." He picked up his brief case and walked out.

[2:00 PM. Indigo Plateau. Hall of the Champion. The same day.]

"By the power vested in me by the Pokemon League, I hereby declare this, the Fourth Tohjo Summit, to officially come to order," Octavius said from his raised chair. His was higher than all the others. In total there were ten chairs arranged in a circle. Ian stood towards the back along with all the other attendants. He recognized the League members: Octavius, the grand historian and master of the Rock type, dressed in fine academic clothes, combed white hair giving him an air of wisdom and authority; Porter, the everyman, the user of Normal types, dressed plainly, yet efficiently; Claudia, the cryptic Dark mistress, dressed in a midnight evening gown; Gaap, the flamboyant, pop-sensation, yet devilishly strong Fighting wielder; and the wizened psychic, Sabrina, formerly of Saffron City. The man in white robes was seated prominently next to Octavius. Werner and Rena were placed next to the Elite Four, not looking at each other, and the final two seats were taken by the two Professors: Oak and Elm, of Kanto and Johto respectively. No reporters crowded the room. No attendant wrote anything or made any calls. All simply watched and waited. Octavius spoke again:

"Representative Werner of Kanto, I understand that your provincial government has petitioned for reparations pertaining to the tragic loss of Deep Sea Research Facility 02, which was destroyed in an explosion yesterday at around 11:00 PM. Is this accurate?"

Werner had dressed for the occasion. "Yes, Champion Octavius, that is correct."

"In addition," the champion continued, "you say you have evidence implicating certain 'radical Johto independents' in the incident. Is this also, correct, Representative Werner?"

"Yes, that is also correct."

"Please present this evidence so we may examine it ourselves, Representative," Sabrina said.

"Of course, Mistress Sabrina." An attendant made her way towards Werner with a plain manila envelope. Ian noticed that Moira still wasn't back. "It is in here, distinguished council." He flashed the envelope triumphantly in over his head like a trophy. Rena turned nervously back to her retinue looking for any sort of reassurance. She received nothing but blank stares and shrugs. An attendant for the League stepped forward to take the envelope from Werner's outstretched hand. Before she could take it, a trainer burst through the door wearing League vestments.

"Honorable council! I bear a message of grave contents."

Octavius ruffled his brow. "You may speak, messenger."

"We've just received word that Celadon City is under attack!"

Porter jumped from his chair. "Attacked? By whom? Speak!"

"Unconfirmed, Master Porter. Reports claim several explosions placed in major buildings across the city detonated simultaneously."

Werner was the next to leave his chair. "It was those damn Johtans. This proves it! We must go. I beseech the League!"

A menacing laugh echoed throughout the chamber. Cain stepped into the light of the chamber and all gasped. He had Moira, covered in gashes and bruises, in his titanic arms, knife pushed against her throat. "I'd sit back down if I were you, Representative."

[2:45 PM. Outside Celadon City. One hour twenty-seven minutes after the initial explosion.]

Hayley had never been outside Celadon City. She had never known anything besides the lumbering skyscrapers that kissed the clouds. She had never breathed anything but the bitter air of Celadon's smog choked atmosphere. She was seven years old. Her mother told her they were going on an adventure as they walked faceless in a dirty crowd of terrified people.

She and her mother were in Vermillion when they saw the mushroom cloud and felt the energy wash over the building they were staying in. Someone in uniform had given them blankets and a bowl of hot soup to share. Her mother didn't talk much. Her hands shook when she held the soup bowl. They were in a warehouse of some sort and there were cots hastily placed in rows to accommodate the people.

Hayley had a Clefairy that her father had caught for her in a place called Mt. Moon. She played with it quietly outside the warehouse while there was still light out. Everywhere in Vermillion were people in uniform directing the flow of the human river that spilled out through the gates. The people were dirty and terrified and burned, sometimes horribly so. Hayley tried not to stare, she really did. She saw a little boy she thought might be her age. He kept looking for his father, screaming to the workers who simply pushed him aside. He had a Kakuna in his arms that was cut and leaking a strange fluid all over the boy. Hayley went back to playing with her Clefairy.

"Where's daddy?" She asked over the evening meal of soup back in the warehouse. It was dark now outside and she could see the boy trying to take care of his Kakuna over in a corner by himself. The whole room smelt of ash.

Her mother stared at her over the soup. "What?"

"Where's daddy?" she repeated.

"I don't know," her mother replied. She offered the rest of the soup to Hayley.

"Is he safe?" she asked.

Her mother thought hard about this, cracked her knuckles. "Of course he is," she finally said, rubbing little Hayley's hair affectionately. "You're dad's just fine. He'll be here in no time." She forced a smile onto her face as she looked at Hayley who bought the act and left with the soup. She met up with the boy who didn't have any food and who was still fretting over his Kakuna. The boy had put up the cocoon Pokemon in his cot. It was leaking clear fluid onto the sheets.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. The boy froze and turned to face Hayley, eyeing her suspiciously. He looked her over and then at the soup. Hayley heard his stomach growl.

"You can have some of this if you want," she said. Hayley held out the half eaten bowl of soup to the boy. The boy was cautious at first but he snatched the bowl out of Hayley's hand and began to voraciously scarf up the soup. He muttered no thanks.

"My name's Hayley," the little girl said meekly. The boy was bigger than her and looked a little mean. He stared at Hayley, summing her up, evaluating her.

"Lexie. I'm Lexie," he said after a pause.

"Hello, Lexie!" Hayley said spritely. Her demeanor took a complete change. "Where are your Mommy and Daddy?"

Lexie was quiet and his face fell. He placed the soup, unfinished onto the floor. "I don't know."

"Oh, well you can come stay with my mom and me, you know, if you wanted to," Hayley said with a mix of enthusiasm and nascent pity. She wanted to get to know Lexie more but she also felt sorry for him somewhere in her young heart.

"Thanks, but I've got to stay with my Kakuna for now," he said. Lexie went to check on his precious bug Pokemon. He tried to clean some of the liquid from the wound with his sheet but to no avail; it kept up like an ooze. He leaned in to check the Kakuna's pulse. He held his hands on the carapace and his face lost all color. The eyelids of the Kakuna fell shut.

"No, NO!" cried out Lexie. He grabbed the Kakuna from the bed, knocking over the soup in the process. He rushed into the center of the warehouse with Hayley in tow. He found a nurse and tugged desperately on her shirt. She took one look at the Kakuna in the small boy's arms and let out a cry. She rushed Lexie back to a makeshift hospital where people and Pokemon alike were sleeping and being treated. The nurse began administering revives to the poor bug Pokemon but to no avail. She got her hands on a max revive and the Kakuna's eyes slowly fluttered open. She called for assistance, and Hayley could have sworn she saw a tear in Lexie's eye.

The Kakuna began to glow, which took the nurses by surprise. "It's trying to evolve!" one of them said. "If it evolves now..." the first nurse said. The glowing intensified until out of the broken and sticky shell emerged a large Beedrill. Hayley got one look at it and recoiled. The insect's wings were horribly deformed and the left drill was warped and the Beedrill's body was covered in innumerable lesions. Lexie cried out as the Beedrill tried in vain to fly away. The humming intensified until Hayley had to cover her ears. Stick liquid was flying from the wings as they vibrated at hypersonic speeds. She was sure the Beedrill was crying out in pain. The heart rate monitor the nurses hooked up to the Kakuna previously was erupting in sound as the EKG went wild and then fell silent. Flatline.

A nurse stood petrified at the event. She dropped down to Lexie's level and put a consoling hand on his shoulder. He was shaking. "I'm sorry..." she couldn't finish. Lexie began to cry and ran away from the nurses and through the doors into the night. Hayley's mother ran up to the nurses looking for her daughter, and when she caught sight of Hayley she dropped to her knees and opened her arms for Hayley to run into. They embraced and held each other.

Back at their cots later that night, Hayley woke up her mother in the bunk next to hers. The groggy mother rubbed sleep from her eyes. "What is it, Hayley?"

"Daddy's dead, isn't he?" she asked. Her mother looked at her and began to cry.


	8. Part 6: The Elite Eight

6

[2:23 PM. Indigo Plateau. Hall of the Champion. The same day.]

Rena shouted first. "Cain! What are you doing?"

Cain pressed the knife to Moira's throat. "Settle down little sis, I'm just mixing things up, running with a new crew, you know?"

Porter took a step forward in blatant challenge to Cain. "By order of the Pokemon League I demand you release that girl."

The brute laughed once more. He did not move from his spot. "Now, hold on right there Mister Portly, you don't know my half of the story. This bitch comes and bothers me, screaming bloody murder and comes at me. I defend myself. What's a man got to do to get a fair trial?"

Sabrina glided down from her chair, her once dark hair now a mane of quicksilver against the pristine white Hall of the Champion. "You will release the girl."

"I don't think you all quite get the severity of what's going down out there." Sabrina hesitated.

"This one knows more than he cares to let on, it would seem," Claudia said, not moving from her chair.

"Spooky over there gets it, why can't you all?" Moira let out a whimper as Cain pushed the knife tighter, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

"Regardless of what you may or may not know, you did not hear me: you will release the girl."

Cain laughed. "Just try."

"Very well." Sabrina closed her eyes. Then, as if Cain was having a reluctant change of heart, his blade arm moved slowly away from her neck. Moira saw her chance and gave him a sharp elbow to the side, then barreled towards Werner as his guard was dropped. Cain dropped the knife, but Sabrina seemed exhausted.

"Heh, neat trick. I got a buddy that can do something like that," Cain said, stretching his arm now that he was free of Sabrina's influence. It was then that three more people appeared in the Hall: a young man and woman, and an older man. "Meet your new Elite Four."

The attendants in Hall all tensed, as if they could sense their power. Ian did as well. And hesitated. The young man stepped up beside Cain.

"You cannot hope to beat us all," Octavius boomed.

The young man closed his eyes. "The odds of your victory, all contingencies accounted for are four thousand six hundred twenty-eight to one."

"You hear that?" Cain shouted. "Hector here's a goddamn super-computer."

"That seems pretty wrong considering there are at least thirty of us and only four of you," Gaap said lazily.

"Does nobody in here listen?" Cain pleaded facetiously, "That's with all contingencies accounted for!"

The young woman laughed. "Oh, that's right! They don't know about the bombs in the refugee warehouses? You know, the places for all the people to go who got blown up in those BOMBS you're not dealing with?"

Cain laughed yet again. "I almost forgot about them! That's right. Naomi, Gillian, how about you two head on over and make sure those poor people get a proper welcome to their new homes."

The two behind Cain and Hector nodded and dashed for the door. "Now all we're looking for is a fair fight. The rest of you all can go on down and try and put a stop to our little plan."

"I cannot stand by while you hurt innocent people," Blue said, rising from his chair. From the crowd, Mia tried to stop him, but Octavius waved him aside.

"There is no need for that, Professor. I am more than a match for these two miscreants." He checked his pocket watch. "My guess is I'll have them done in time to get back to Cinnawood for dinner."

"About that, Grandpa," Cain mused. "How's the Missus doing?"

Octavius dropped his watch.

Porter shouted. "Find your family, Octavius. If my prediction is correct, Claudia and I can handle this."

"The plain one speaks the truth," Claudia assented.

"No," Sabrina said. "I will fight alongside Porter."

Claudia shrugged and flittered away into nothingness.

"The rest of you, find the other two, there's no time to waste!" Porter barked.

"I will accompany you to Cinnawood, Master," Santiago said, "I sense a trap."

"Huh, lame. I guess I'll be going. I wanted to fight. Huck? Where are you at? We're leaving," Gaap said.

Ian could only watch in terror as the scene unfolded, which wasn't long until Werner nearly picked him up on his way out. "We're leaving this place. I got family in Celadon!" Ian looked to Moira who hadn't said anything. She mouthed one thing: "Later."

With the rest of the trainers gone, the four masters had some space.

"I don't know what you think you're gonna do, here, but I guarantee that you won't leave," Porter said. He loosened up his tie and reached for a pokeball.

"I know that my guys gotta better chance against your guys considering the matchup you see."

"You speak as if I never encounter a Fighting trainer regularly. I spar with Gaap. I think I can handle myself. I spar with Gaap."

Hector produced a pokeball from the folds of his coat without even reaching for it. "I suppose I have to battle the old adding machine, correct?"

Sabrina did the same, though hers was considerably slower. "Don't worry about me, Porter. It's been quite some time since I've really let loose."

The battle began instantaneously. Cain pitched his Conkledurr against Porter's Slaking, which to Cain's surprise, stood tall and alert. Hector led with a Claydol and Sabrina sent out her Espeon. Conkledurr swung his pillar like a bat, but the sloth caught it in one hand. The Espeon used this opportunity to run up the back of the Slacking in attempt to attack the distracted Conkledurr, however, the cat hit an invisible wall that tossed it back towards Sabrina.

"I am your opponent," Hector said.

Conkledurr used the force of Slaking's grip to propel him towards the Slaking, striking him with a wicked punch. More resolute now, the Conkledurr broke the pillar free of the opposing pokemon's grip, swinging it towards the Slaking's head. Slaking merely punched back; shattering the pillar. The Claydol began to spin, throwing out jagged rocks in every direction. Slaking beat the away, and Espeon was nimble enough to dodge the initial wave, but now the problem of the rocks on the ground was apparent. The Espeon concentrated, pouring all its energy into assaulting the Claydol's mind, but the Claydol did not flinch. Slaking leapt into the air and delivered a bone shattering elbow to the Conkledurr, which merely snickered and bashed its massive fist against the sloth's head. Conkledurr stood, cracked its neck, and looked as if it hadn't just taken a brick wall to the body. Slaking lurched back in obvious pain. The Espeon ceased its assault on the Claydol and closed its eyes. A faint shimmer and a beam of light streaked across the hall.

"Make this count," Sabrina said.

The Claydol rammed into the defenseless Espeon, knocking it back. Cain saw an opening and commanded his Conkledurr to finish the feline. Slaking was still too dazed to intercept the lightning-fast punch that connected with the Espeon and Sabrina returned it to its ball. She sent out Alakazam, her most trusted partner. Hector smirked, withdrew the Claydol, and sent out an Alakazam of his own. "Most interesting," he said to himself.

The Alakazam's looked intently at each other, then, in perfect synchronization, assumed the same meditative stance. Porter could feel the psychic energies radiating from their silent mental battle.

"Maybe they're playing chess," Porter shouted.

Slaking ran towards the Conkledurr like a creature possessed, shouting and roaring, shoulder raised. The Conkledurr wound up for another punch, but that wasn't enough to stop the assault, and Slaking crashed into the titan who fell like a tree to the ground. Seconds later, a faint star crossed over the Slaking, and it flexed, enjoying its newfound vitality.

Cain retuned the dazed Conkledurr to its ball and sent in a fearsome Machamp, it flexed its four rippling arms before winding up and throwing a massive punch towards the Slaking faster than the eye could register. Porter heard the sounds of several bones breaking. The Slaking struggled to stand up against the Machamp and counterattack, but in its dazed and confused state, tripped on a rock and impaled its shoulder on a pointed rock.

"I'd love to continue this little charade, but there's some business I have to attend to with my dear sister," Cain said before he dashed off. Porter returned his Slaking to the safety of its ball.

"Follow him, Porter, I can handle the boy on my own," Sabrina said, her words strained.

Porter nodded. "Good luck, Sabrina."

She mustered forth a smile. "Luck was never part of the equation."

Porter left, hot on the trail of Cain.

Time passed. Seconds, minutes, hours. They all felt like decades to Sabrina, eons. She began to feel her companion crack, slip. The boys mental assault was slip through holes in Alakazam's defense.

_Hang in there._

_Yes, perhaps this is meant to be._

_We've been through so much together. _

_I don't know how much longer I can hold out._

_This is it, my friend._

_I can only give you one thing._

_I see the future._

_This is my end. _

_But I see a future when this one is defeated by you, Alakazam._

_I have foreseen the attack._

_I'm so proud of you._

_I can't help you anymore._

_I'm too old._

_Goodbye._

Her Alakazam's eyes burst open and he flew backwards. Sabrina began to scream in pain as Hector invaded her mind.


	9. Part 6-2: The Man with the Briefcase

6.5

[4:10 PM. Outside Campion Octavius's Seaside Villa. Cianwood City. The same day.]

There were no lights on inside the villa.

Normally a very even tempered man, Octavius could not help but feel the rapid beating of his aging heart. With practiced determination, the historian calmed his heart with several deep breaths, finding his center. Just as Master Sobi had taught him, all those years ago.

"There is something malevolent inside that house," Santiago said, his hand reflexively moving towards the hilt of his sword. "You are not alone, Master Octavius."

"I feel it too," the rock master said. "But this is my fight—with Huck gone with Gaap to Celadon, I need you here to act as the interim Gym Leader. Those fools from Indigo are dangerous, perhaps dangerous enough to strike at Johto as well. Stay behind, comfort the people of my home."

"Master—"

"I command you, Santiago."

Santiago bowed and made his way south to the Pokemon center.

Octavius's house rested cliff-side, help up by massive supports with a winding stair case to the deck and front door. He took the first step, then the second, then the third. The door to the house was ajar. A massive black bird was perched on the railing of the deck. It regarded Octavius, tilted its head, ruffled its feathers, and let out a deep caw. Octavius stepped in the house. The smell of death permeated the interior. He heard a door slowly creak and click towards the rear of the house. He stepped into the kitchen. Everything was in place, save for a brown leather briefcase that rested next to the sink.

Footsteps.

Octavius reached for a pokeball, gripped it tightly in his old, worn hand. A man of about fifty with a thick moustache, brown hat and coat, stepped into the carpet of light that flooded in from the front door. The man removed his gloves and put them in his coat pocket, looked down, and sighed.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

Outside, the black bird screeched against the roar of the tide.


	10. Part 7: Out of the Frying Pan

7

[1:59 PM. Celadon City Department Store. Celadon City. Earlier the same day.]

Molly was in the elevator the minute everything changed.

She was on her way down after enjoying a meal on the roof. It started as a low rumble, muffled by the steel of the elevator. An old building is bound to have some creaks and groans, she thought, maybe boiler trouble. She would bring it up with the lady at the front desk when she reached the bottom floor.

Then the whole elevator shuddered. Molly froze, then heard the steel cable snap.

Suddenly she felt

a flutter in

her stomach

as

she

began

to

fall.

[5:22 PM. Ruins of the Celadon City Department Store. Celadon City. The same day.]

Molly woke to the sound of frantic beating against the door of the elevator. Her entire body felt numb. She reached instinctively for her head. It was cool and damp; blood painted her hand. She was drenched in sweat.

The beating continued. Through the daze, Molly forced herself to focus. She could faintly hear a female's voice. "Hello? Hello? Is anybody in there? This is the Celadon City Fire Department. If there is anyone in there, please answer us!"

"Hello!" Molly croaked. Her throat was bone dry. "Help, please! There's somebody in here!"

"Did you hear that, Harley? Someone's in there!" A male voice boomed.

Harley returned. "Hold on in there, we're gonna get you out. Miles, open the door."

The heat intensified as the door began to glow orange. As it grew brighter, Molly shielded her weak eyes. "One sec, friend," Miles said. "We're cutting through."

Molly heard the sound of a thin stream of water connect with the glowing door. As the stream cooled the door, she saw a pair or large hands and a set of chitinous claws grip the metal and begin warping it until the sunlight struck Molly.

Miles dropped his hand inside the steel coffin. "Go on take it. You're home free. The worst part's over, sweetheart. I got you."

Molly grabbed the hand and was surprised by how firm the grip was. Miles singlehandedly pulled her up through the open door. What Molly saw made her woozy: the skyline was on fire, everything washed in a thick orange haze. Ash rained down from the sky like snow. The woman stood next to a small Vaporeon, and the man had a large Typhlosion and Pinsir flanking him.

Miles set her straight and brushed her off. "Welcome to Celadon City."

"We're Squad 16- Emergency Response Unit," Hayley said. "Formerly volunteer fire fighters. Welcome aboard." She noticed Molly's blank stare. "You don't get used to it."

"What the hell happened here," she asked as Miles handed her a blanket and a bottle of water.

"Bombs. Exposions. Lots of explosions—simultaneous and all over the city." Miles waved a second man in a similar uniform over. "This is Dr. Garth. Let him take a look at you."

Dr. Garth was a young man, probably just out of Med School. He had sandy blonde and his chin was decorated with a tuft of unkempt hair. He immediately took a look at Molly's head. "Not _too_ bad. Surface damage. Entirely cosmetic. You're gonna have some headaches and a nice lump, but other than that, you should be good."

Even at the end of the world, Molly seemed sarcastic. "Fantastic."

Miles, a built man of about twenty-eight, brushed soot off his jacket. "Could be worse." He jammed a thumb over his shoulder, and Molly saw rows of body bags. Not many people made it out of the department store. That elevator probably saved your life."

"I never want to step in another elevator ever again."

Miles chuckled. "I understand."

Harley was a young girl, a pretty blonde, though her long hair was put up in a hasty bun. "Can you walk? We need to get you to a shelter."

Molly struggled to her feet. "Yeah, I can walk. But I'm not going to any shelter."

"What?" Harley gasped. "Of course you are. Miles, tell her she can't be out here like this."

Miles looked at Harley, and then to Molly, then finally to Garth, who merely shrugged. "If you think you're up to it, we could use the extra hands. Doc's cleared you. You got pokemon on you?" She flashed three small pokeballs from her lapel. "Great, we need to keep moving. Doc, Harley, we're moving out."

The four moved through the debris-strewn streets of Celadon. It was now that Molly had a chance to marvel at the destruction, at the beautiful totality of it all. The once imposing skyline, rivaled only by Silph Tower in Saffron, was now a burning shell, smoking and hollow. The buildings she knew, the friends that had lived there, gone. Almost as if they hadn't existed at all.

"Who could have done this?" she asked to the orange sky.

"There's been no word from either Indigo Plateau or Viridian City," Miles said.

"Has this happened everywhere?"

Miles shook his head. "Hard to say. However, we've got refugees in Vermillion, and that wasn't touched.

"Small miracle," Harley said.

"It would be foolish to believe in miracles today," a voice from above said. The four trainers tensed, scanning the skyline for the source of the voice. "There!" Garth pointed towards an old billboard leering dangerously. A Mandibuzz flew lazily overhead. At the top stood a young woman, with cropped red hair and blood-red lips. Even as the billboard swayed in the wind, she stood firm. With a small hop, she landed with extreme grace on the ground below, sending up a cloud of residual ash.

"You are the third squad of noble volunteers I've encountered today." She smiled wickedly, her body encased in leather trappings.

"Who are you?" Miles bellowed. Harley and Garth had already released their pokemon: A Vaporeon and Dragalge respectively.

"You can call me Mistress Naomi as you beg for your lives," the woman said.

The Manidbuzz shot downwards towards the trainers. Miles dove for Molly as the Dragalge threw itself in front of the vulture. Naomi laughed. "I've posed this scenario before to the other two squads: on the one hand you can stay and fight me, there are four of you, of course. On the other hand, if you all stay and fight, then you won't be able to save the people I have hidden somewhere in this area. Both times, the squads of noble volunteers have made the wrong choice. What about you four?"

Miles grunted, mulling over the options in his head. Molly could see that the others looked to him as their de facto leader. An impossible choice that Molly was glad she did not have to make. "Harley, Garth: you stay here. Hold this bitch off as long as you can. Molly and I will look for the survivors."

Harley flinched, but nodded in agreement. "Right. We've got your back."

"Good luck."

Molly and Miles hauled it over towards the direction Miles predicted Naomi had come from. Most of the buildings in this area had been gutted by flames and had cooled off. The area was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Miles, I don't think anyone's here."

Miles scanned the area. "It almost feels like—"

A tall man pushed aside a slab of concrete. "You're alone?" The building, or what was left of it, crumbled. From the wreckage, a hulking Aggron roared triumphantly. Molly reacted first, releasing her Sceptile. The leafy lizard fired off a horrible storm of leaves, twigs, roots, and, thorns at the Aggron. The tall man scoffed as the Aggron charged headfirst towards the storm. It began to glow red as it charged until flames ignited in a cone around it reminiscent of a comet. The Aggron weathered the nicks and cuts as it burned its way towards the Sceptile, catching it head on, sending Molly's pokemon flying, flames licking its body.

Molly rushed to treat her injured pokemon. Miles stepped in between the man and Molly, sending out his Typhlosion. "Two can play that game," he mocked. "Typhlosion! Melt that bulldozer!" The Typhlosion spewed a massive column of flame. The man laughed as the Aggron assumed the same position, charging until flames formed.

"You can't hope to fight fire with fire!" Miles said.

"I don't plan to!" the man retorted. The Aggron let the flames from Typhlosion merge with the heat of his brilliant streaks. The Aggron lowered its head this time before savagely connecting with the chest of the Typhlosion. The Fire pokemon tried to hold its ground but the Aggron would not be stopped; it kept going until Miles was forced to return it to its ball.

"Now I suppose all that remains is taking care of you two. A messy business, to be sure, and not one I enjoy. But it is necessary." The Aggron lowered its head once more pointed at Molly and her wounded Sceptile. Miles ran forward in between the titan and its prey.

"A noble gesture! Charming, to the last."

He commanded the Aggron to charge. Miles closed his eyes and braced himself.

An earth-shattering crash sent him to his back. As he opened his eyes, Miles saw the Aggron mashed into the ground; a triumphant Machamp and a curiously dressed young woman stood barefoot on top of the steel behemoth.

"I take it you're Gillian, huh? Yeah, I recognize you," Gaap said. "How about you pick on someone your own size? Not cool, grandpa. Not cool."

Miles recognized the woman from a magazine his girlfriend had showed him. She was Gaap, superstar and one of the youngest members of the Elite Four. He gave himself a moment to breathe.

Gaap turned to face him. "Don't just stand there, get out of here!"

Miles nodded and helped Molly up. He muttered a word of thanks before sprinting off to find the others.

Gillian returned his Aggron to its ball. "Ah, Mistress Gaap. We finally meet. I had hoped I would be the one to take you down. Heavens know it's all Naomi could talk about."

She scoffed. "Hmph. I guess you're pretty strong, and I do need a work out. Alright, old man. I'll humor you."


	11. Part 8: History

8

[4:15 PM. Campion Octavius's Seaside Villa. Cianwood City. Earlier the same day.]

"Who are you?" Octavius said. "What have you done to my wife?"

"I had hoped, sincerely, that you would not be here to see this," Grayson said. He removed his hat. "Though, I'm sure that means very little to an upstanding man like yourself, coming from someone, well, like me. Will you sit?"

Octavius stood.

"As I imagined," Grayson said. "I suppose it can't be helped."

Octavius gripped the ball. "I will not repeat myself again: what have you done with my wife."

"There are many different forces at work here, Master Historian, the present is always in motion, however, I might be inclined to understand if someone so stuck in the past cannot see the oscillations of an ever-changing future."

"I am the Champion of the Pokemon League! You will—"

"No, Master Historian, you will listen. There are many things you need to hear," he said. "It is rude to interrupt someone when they are speaking."

Octavius stood firm.

"The world around us is changing, even you can see it. My mentor believes there to be no place for old men like ourselves in this new world, but I disagree. There will always be a place for powerful men, if they only seize the power for themselves."

"I will not betray my home and country to the ideals of a handful of madmen. Violence on this scale will only beget more violence," Octavius said.

Grayson smiled.

"No, of course not. Not you, not the Master of Stone, the Timekeeper. How will history remember you? Your legacy? Your role in these events? I will leave my mark in stone, in history, in you."

The two old men threw there pokemon simultaneously. Grayson, his Marowak, and Octavius, his Bastiodon. The Marowak moved first; it hurled its club toward the shield pokemon, which bounced uselessly off.

"You see that, Bastiodon? This man is toying with us! Let's show him how a champion fights."

The Bastiodon roared in approval and charged towards the Marowak, each thunderous step left a wooden crater in the floor of his home. The Marowak dodged as the Bastiodan collided with the far wall, breaking a hole overlooking the sea below. The pokemon howled.

"Now it seems it is you who is toying with me, Champion. I expected better from a Master."

The Marowak drove its club into the ground, splitting the salt-stained wood along its seams. Octavius and the Bastiodon rolled out from the gaping hole that now yawned over the cliff wall and into the sea below. "Let us make this a more interesting fight, what do you say, friend? Clearly a pokemon battle between us will not simply be decided by brute force alone. Let us finish this like gentlemen."

Octavius saw an opening, and the Bastiodon seized the chance; weaponless, the Marowak had little in the way of defense as the Bastiodon crashed into hit, pinning it beneath a massive leg.

"Finish the runt and be done with it Bastiodon," Octavius boomed. The sea beneath them grew increasingly violent. Grayson smirked. While his Marowak may have been temporarily, the rage that now fueled Octavius's movements had made him less aware; Marowak's club was still in reach. The skull-adorned pokemon grabbed the club and, finding a patch of skin from its precarious vantage point, drove the sharp end deep into the Bastiodon who howled once again and lifted the pressure from the Marowak.

"Some gentleman you are," Octavius taunted.

"Perhaps."

The Marowak charged the Bastiodon, this time its thick club ignited before it hit the steel wall. The Bastiodon cried out as the flames began to warp its metallic face, throwing the Marowak back into the wall, where it crumpled to the floor. Octavius looked at the twisted face of the Bastiodon, one eye entirely fused shut. The rage grew in his heart, despite his distant master's words. "Finish the fool that has harmed you, old friend," Octavius said. We're done here." The Bastiodon dragged its foreleg against the wood and snorted like a bull, head lowered in a charge.

"A true Champion never forgets his surroundings!" Grayson yelled as a fiery wave from outside caught even the wet wood of the house aflame. Octavius dove for cover, but the Bastiodon was not fast enough. Shielding his face he could see that the Bastiodon had moved in between himself and the wave which originated from the black bird he had seen on his deck. He looked into the Bastiodon's one good eye as the creature writhed in agony. Grayson stood watching, hands folded behind his back as his Honchkrow continued its assault.

"Good bye, old friend. You've given me all the time I need."

The Bastiodon summoned all the energy it could muster. As hot metal dripped to the floor and its face plate began to melt, it nodded back at its master, its friend.

"ANCIENT POWER!"

The Bastiodon gave a last mighty roar as the very cliff the house was perched on began to rise and split. The villa splintered. Grayson moved to shield his face as a massive plank struck him in the chest and he was thrown from the cliff into the water. Octavius smiled as he felt the floor fall out from underneath him. Before hit hit the water, he threw a pokeball into the sea. He landed safely on the back of his Armaldo. It began to rain—slowly at first, the gradually increasing until the rain was sideway. Massive thunderbolts struck the ocean. He closed his eyes and let the rain wash over him.

He woke in the Pokemon Center. Santiago stood vigil at his bedside, hands on his blade. Octavius felt his eyes flutter, adjusting to the light. "I told you it was a trap," Santiago said.

"And very rarely are you wrong, my friend. But it was necessary to spring the trap."

"I trust you knew what you were doing."

The storm raged outside. With every thunder crack, the Pokemon Center's lights flickered. "The people are in a panic," Santiago said.

"How long was I out?"

"I pulled you from your Armaldo about an hour ago."

The mightiest thunderclap yet rocked the island. The entire Pokemon Center rocked and the lights shut off. Nurses and doctors panicked. Octavius sat up in bed, ignoring the sharp pain in his back. "That one hit the Center. Santiago, check on the staff."

"Master—"

"GO."

Santiago, paused, bowed then left the room. Octavius struggled to his feet. Reaching for the two pokeballs at his bedside, he clipped them to his belt and left the hospital.

The storm was a furious hurricane. The cold sea wind bit at Octavius's skin. A dark figure stood at the shore line.

"OUR FIGHT IS NOT FINISHED, CHAMPION."

Through the storm, Octavius could see the shadow of the man he had fought in his home. He was missing or had discarded his shirts and jackets and a deep red gash ran across his chest. There was hate in his eyes.

"I've beaten you, what more fight do you want?"

"I command this storm! Come, Champion, our destiny awaits! History will remember this battle!"

He seemingly guided a massive thunderbolt straight at the old man, but it went wide and struck the Pokemon Center. Octavius could see his trick; a Heliolisk was channeling the electricity from the storm. In this rain, he seemed invincible, but, as Octavius remembered from the soft voice of Sobi years ago:

Invincible was just a word.

Octavius called his massive Tyrantum. It stood menacingly and howled back at the storm.

"Excellent!" He tossed another lightning bolt at the Tyrantum which shrugged it off. "Let us end this! Let us punctuate this battle in the annals of all time!"

Octavius leapt onto the dinosaurs back. "Charge, Tyrantum!"

The Tyrantum bellowed and muscled through bolt after bolt, all the while Grayson cackled with primordial glee. A lightning bolt, the strongest yet, stuck Grayson, the Heliolisk on his back grinning in sadistic glee. Grayson guided the bolt at the Tyrantum. In a flash, the bolt left his hand and Grayon leapt out ahead into the path of the bolt, taking the full brunt and letting his Tyrantum charge forward. Grayson looked confused for a second as the energy dissipated and the smoldering body fell to the sand. He turned just in time to see the dinosaur open it's flaming jaws. He was a millisecond too late to get completely away as the steeltrap jaws cut through the bone and muscle of his arm like a soft cake. Grayson heard the wet crack before the massive wave of pain over took him. The Tyrantum roared in triumph, throwing the severed limb into the ocean.

Grayson cried out in agonizing torture as he tried in vain to stop the bleeding. His torso had caught on fire and the red flames kissed his chest leaving maroon burns like a weed across his body. The flames had cauterized the wound, and Grayson forced himself from going into shock. Suddenly he felt the train wreck of a tail strike him in the chest as he felt himself tossed like a doll out to sea. Everything went black before he hit the water.

Octavius struggled to open his eyes. Ever molecule of his body screamed in protest. He was alive, resting on the white sand of Cianwood as the storm above him began to pass; the torrential downpour relegating itself to a peaceful mist. He reached into his pocket to check his watch.

Cracked.

He clutched the watch to his breast and began to cry.


	12. Part 8-2: Last One Out, Kick the Dog

8.5

[2:12 PM. Celadon City. Earlier the same day.]

In Vyro's eyes, the day could only get better.

Not being bound and gagged by that crazy old dude was definitely a plus, enacting wanton revenge on the puny citizens of Kanto for his continued and perpetual scorn and dismissal was simply gravy, delicious, bloody, ash coated gravy.

The bombs were a work of art, he had to hand it to the old man. All he had to do was push a big red buttons, just like in his cartoons. From a safe distance outside the city, he got to watch the single greatest fireworks display this side of Kalos. The thought of each screaming fool perishing in a twisted fireball of metal and industrial fuel made this little super villain positively giddy.

Yes, the day was definitely getting better.

All he had to do now to get people's attention was to swoop down on the back of Noivern and say something choicely terrifying and they'd drop in fits of screaming. He had even taken out the Gym Leader, an easier thing to do when they have a five foot metal pole impaled through their lungs. Vyro made a mental note to tell the insolent Kai of his achievement.

Vyro spotted his next victim. A small boy grieving over his mangled parents would make an excellent pick-me-up for him. He swooped down, Noivern screeching. The boy looked up, screamed and covered his ears. Vyro hopped off his pokemon. The boy looked to be about eight at the most.

"BEHOLD! I, Vyro, have chosen you as my next opponent!"

The look in the boys eyes of one who had nothing to lose.

"What is your name, lucky heretic?"

The boy mumbled.

"Speak up, child! Speak so that not only my Noivern can hear you!"

"Lexie."

"What a pretty name. Lexie," Vyro said. "I wish to fight you. You do know how to fight, don't you? You do have that pokeball at your waist."

The boy took the ball from his belt. The body of his mother moved slightly.

"So one of them yet lives."

"Stay back! I'm warning you! I'm gonna be a pokemon master some day!"

Vyro scoffed. "Well, let me put an end to that little charade before it gets to your head. Greatness is something you're born with, like me, not attained."

"Don't hurt Mom!" the boy cried.

"But I plan to do just that!"

Lexie tossed his ball and a diminutive Weedle appeared. Vryo stifled a laugh. "Some Pokemon Master you are."

Just then the Weedle launched itself at Vyro, catching him in the shoulder with his stinger. Vyro screamed in rage and tossed the bug to the ground. Lexie rushed to his companion.

"ARROGANT FOOL."

As Lexie held his pokemon in his arms, it began to glow. Vyro hesitated and Lexie gasped in surprise. The Weedle had begun its metamorphosis and encased itself in a cocoon. The new Kakuna stood firm between Vyro and his trainer.

"NOIVERN, ERADICATE THE PEST."

The Noivern shrieked and raked the Kakuna with its talons, splitting the still soft cocoon open. Lexie cried out in horror. The masked villain pushed the child and stepped on the throat of the mother, who could only make a weak protesting gurgle in response. Eventually the wet noises stopped. Tears streamed down Lexie's eyes.

"Bury you parents, foolish boy, before the Houndour come out and have an easy meal," he cackled and hoisted himself on to the back of his Noivern, leaving Lexie to the horror of his new reality.


	13. Part 9: Like no one ever was

9

[12:00 AM. Mt. Silver Summit. Mt. Silver. 30 years ago.]

Blue tugged at the collar of his jacket as the wind howled a melancholy threnody. He stood on the last step of the worn staircase. The air was so clean, crisp like an untouched brook; every gust told a story, every zephyr sung of innumerable heroes.

_So this is where he goes to be alone._

Blue saw him in at the far edge of the summit, coast billowing in the wind, staring into the eternity of the nameless forest that lay beyond the mountain. How many countless hours had his friend stared off into the distance. What did he see? What secrets had the cold wind whispered into his ear?

The man turned as soon as Blue's foot touched the peak of the great mountain.

"I had not thought you would come, Blue."

The Pokemon Proffessor froze. "Anything for an old friend, Red."

Red turned back to the forest. Blue noticed something different about Red, something calmer, something other-worldly.

"We have know each other our entire lives," Red stated.

"Since before I can remember."

"Always, I have strived to better myself, as have you."

"We were the perfect rivals."

Red smiled to himself. "Yes…rivals. Because of you, I became stronger, Blue."

"The same is true for me."

"When we met, that fateful day, at the Indigo Plateau—I have never battled harder in my entire life than I did on that day."

"How could I forget it?" Scenes from the climactic battle flashed through Blue's mind, clear as they had been, nearly twenty years ago. A shiver, independt from the cold, raced down his back. Having just overcome Octavius, his first match was against Red, and what a match it was. He could still feel the intense feeling of jealousy coupled with anger upon losing, but as the years would pass, he would find those feeling of anger turn to admiration and fondness.

"Nor have I, not since that day."

Blue took a few more tentative steps towards Red. "You didn't call me here to reminisce about the good ol' days, did you?

"Not today, my friend, not today. What is the one thing we both strove for, when we left, bright eyed and bushy tailed, from your Grandfather's lab? What did we both want to be?"

The words came Blue's lips on the back of the wind. "To be the very best."

Red turned and smiled, "Like no one ever was."

The wind moaned into the darkness of nascent morning.

"Red, the reason I came here—I'm here to bring you back."

Red's face lowered. "Back? Where?"

"Home, Red, home. It's time to come home.

Again, the man turned away from Blue. "This is my home. I have nothing below the clouds."

"So you won't come with me?"

"I'm afraid I cannot."

"Why? What are you doing up here, alone, for all these years? What could be so captivating about this place?"

Red laughed. "It's the stars. No one is as close to the stars as we are right now."

"Red, you need to come home, please."

"Every trainer of worth has come and battled me here. Octavius is not the end of their journey. Every trainer has the same fire you and I had, every trainer who has ever made his way through the trials as we had has faced me. I have defeated them all. That is what it means to be the champion."

"Red, your mother—"

"Every trainer, except for one: you, Blue. You are the only trainer that has not sought me out. You chose to stay below the clouds. Why did you choose to do so?"

"Your mother died waiting for you."

Red paused. "I see. Then there truly is nothing left for me down below."

Blue felt something in his heart break. Red was gone. He did not recognize the man that stood before him. "How can you say that about your own mother! Your own mother died alone waiting for her only son to come home! I've come here now to bring you back. Whether you want to or not."

"So at last you come to the summit of Mt. Silver to challenge me. I discovered something in my exile; there was doubt in my resolve—you. How could I be sure of my own power if I could not be sure I could defeat you as we stand now, masters of pokemon? That is why I summoned you, Blue. I need to defeat you here. I need to know."

Blue looked down. He knew there were no more words, no more friendship. This would be their final test. If Blue could manage to bring Red home, would he even want him there? Could Red even survive in Tohjo, living as he had for so long?

Red gripped a pokeball proudly in his hand. Blue recognized the worn and battered exterior, just the same as the one he subconsciously reached for on his belt.

"Blue! Let us see who really is the very best!"

[6:01 PM. Ruins of Celadon City. Present day.]

Blue came around slowly. A girl was above him, beating on his chest. She was crying. He let his head fall. Beside him, his Blastoise breathed in strained heaves. It opened one eye to look at its trainer, and then closed it. The noise was deafening. The hot air was choked with horrible screeching. A man moved the girl aside. A Slowbrow waddled behind and the man began collecting something from the shell on its tail in a long needle.

"Professor Oak, are you all right? Can you hear me?" The voice was fuzzy and sounded far away. He tried to nod, but his head fell again to the ground. Every bone ached, every muscle felt strained.

"He's not answering!" the girl shouted. "Do something, Doctor!"

"I'm trying!"

Mia. The girl was Mia. _Mia?_ _What have I gotten her into?_ He tried to mouth the word 'run' but his face felt numb. Everything was numb._ Red? Where are you, Red? Some old friend._

"Vibrava!" Mia shouted. Blue strained his head to sea, but all he could see was a Mandibuzz circling overhead. He summoned what energy he had and craned his neck up: a Dragalge and Vibrava were locked in a battle against a terrifying Talonflame. Blue's body seized and cracked his head on the warm, ashy ground."

_ Red…_

[12:06 AM. Mt. Silver Summit. Mt. Silver. 30 years ago.]

"Red…"

Blue lay on the cold ground, panting, watching his breath float away like a wisp to the night sky. Red stood above him, hands on his knees. Both were drained, but there had been a clear and final victor.

"So it is decided."

In his heart, Blue knew the fight could not have gone any other way; all his life he had walked in the invisible shadow of his friend, and now the shadow cast over him was long and untravereseable, a chasm of skill that could never be crossed. Blue allowed himself a moment to breathe.

"You won, congratulations. Is it everything you thought it'd be?"

Red smiled at the stars. "And more. Now I know: I am the very best."

Blue watched the starlight catch his friend. "Like no one ever was," he whispered.

In an instant, Red vanished, and Blue was alone with the stars.


	14. Part 10: And Into the Fire

10

[6:03 PM. Ruins of Celadon City. Present Day.]

A girl was crying. Even through the haze of his semi consciousness, Blue could hear the blood curdling screech pierce through the sound of Mt. Silver's wind. His eyes flashed open and he sprung from the ground. The hypodermic needle in his arm fell at the feet of Garth.

"Mia!"

The professor surveyed the scene. Naomi was lazily seated on a piece of fallen concrete, kicking her legs into the air as her Talonflame and Mandibuzz flew over head. Harley had rushed over to Mia who was gripping her shoulder. Blood dripped from a deep wound and pooled on the ground. Naomi noticed the professor stand, and she righted herself on the slab. "Oh? I thought I already dealt with you?"

Blue ignored the harpy. "Harley, take Mia and have Garth treat her. Get out of here. Get to Vermillion. I'll meet you there. I can handle things here."

Even as she cried, Blue could see Mia's face light up. "But the others…" Harley asked, he voice trailing off.

"Go. I'll find them and send them your way."

Harley swallowed he pride and nodded. She shielded Mia as she ran to Garth. "Take care of them, Doctor," Blue said. The Mandibuzz cawed overhead.

Garth stared at Blue. "But…I'm just a doctor."

Blue laughed as he reached for a pokeball. "Nobody asks to be a hero. Get them out of the city. Head straight for Vermillion. Don't stop for anyone."

"Right," Garth said. "Uh…good luck, sir."

Blue made sure the three of them were gone before he turned to Naomi who had resumed her reclining on the slab. She tilted her head like a curious child and yawned. "You don't seem like much fun."

"I promise you'll enjoy this."

The Talonflame screeched towards the professor, but was intercepted by the hulking form of his Blastoise. The Cannon Pokemon roared and began laying anti-air coverage. Water streaked into the twilight as the Talonflame weaved through the torrent.

"You're a little slow, you old geezer," Naomi chided.

"I suppose I might be going about this rather child-like." The Blastoise launched a massive stream into the air. Thunder rumbled as grey clouds began to form. Blue smirked and it began to rain. The Talonflame shrieked as the rain struck its body. It dove for the Blastoise in a defiant charge. The Blastoise leapt to meet it, withdrawing and spinning in its shell until its cannons were pointed at the ground. It fired, and the massive jet of liquid rocketed it right into the fire bird as the collided mid air. The Talonflame dropped from the sky like a brick and Naomi returned it, attempting to hide her obvious disgust and surprise.

The Mandibuzz swooped down from overhead, but Blue was quicker, he tossed his Golem at the nearest building and the Golem set to work heaving huge slabs of Concrete at the bird. It tried to dodge, but, not as nimble as the Talonflame, eventually took a hunk of concrete dead on and collapsed to the ground. Blue stood triumphant.

"You're not through with me yet!" Naomi had now stood up, a bead of sweat ran down her face. She released her final pokemon, the small and wise Xatu, which stood silently on the ground. The Blastoise charged, but found itself frozen in place. The Golem leapt from the building to attack while the bird was distracted, but froze mid air. The Xatu hurled the Golem into the Blastoise, sending the two titans to the ground. Blue tried to move, but found he was also frozen. The Xatu began to sing a haunting atonal song that sent shivers down his spine.

_A perish song._

Blue struggled to move, to do anything to get away from this bird, but the Xatu had him locked tight. Naomi laughed.

From the corner of his eye, Blue could see a faint orange glimmer. It grew until it was a large ball of fire. The Xatu broke eye contact and stopped singing just in time to dodge the fireball as it stuck the ground and cratered the spot where the Xatu had been standing.

Blue rushed to return his pokemon. The Golem disappeared in a red flash, but the Blastoise resisted. Blue stared at his oldest companion then heard the roar of a Charizard from above.

"No…"

The colossal dragon swooped down next to the Blastoise. The two acknowledged each other, and, in tandem, released a massive beam of fire and water. Naomi was too slow, and the beam connected, throwing her against the wall of a gutted building. The building shook and the vixen was buried in the rubble.

Blue stood still for a moment, and then approached the Charizard. He reached out in an attempt to convince himself that it was real. He placed an old hand on the warm skin. It regarded the professor. He saw a deep gash run along the right eye, which seemed permanently closed. The skin around the wound seemed deep into necrosis.

"Of course not. Whoever you belong to, tell them I said thank you." The Charizard nodded the flew up into the air.

[4:23 PM. Another part of the ruins of Celadon City. Earlier the dame day.]

Gaap and her Machamp posed atop the ruined body of Aggron.

Gillian glared as he returned his comrade. "Ah, Mistress Gaap. We finally meet. I had hoped I would be the one to take you down. Heavens know it's all Naomi could talk about."

She scoffed. "Hmph. I guess you're pretty strong, and I do need a work out. Alright, old man. I'll humor you."

The steel clad warrior tossed out his Doublade as Machamp launched forward. Gillian smirked as the Superpower pokemon phased through.

"A ghost, huh? Neat."

The Machamp turned on its heels, finding the largest chunk of dislodged concrete it could hurl and swung it at the ghostly swords, sending them reeling into the air.

"Now's your chance, Huck!" Gaap shouted.

"Right!" From atop a building, Huck and Machoke stared intently. The Machoke leapt from the building and barreled into the dazed ghost, and they both careened into the ground.

"Yes! Excellent! Flawlessly executed, Machoke. Out teamwork is unrivaled!"

"Well done, kid, but don't get too excited," Gaap reprimanded.

"What? Kid! I'm older than you!"

Machamp launched itself toward Gillian, but was swatted back as he called forth his Empoleon. The emperor penguin raised a fin and swatted the Machamp back. The fading sunlight gleamed of the trident crown.

"Two against one, tsk," chided Gillian. "I had hoped the forces of good to be more honorable."

The Doublade had managed to unpin itself from beneath the Machoke. "Mistress! Deal with this crook! I will hold this one off!"

Gaap shook her head. Always the dramatic one, Huck. Her Machamp launched a slab towards the Empoleon, but it merely cut cleanly through with its wing.

"You will mind, Mistress Gaap, that I do not fall for such tricks as easily the second time."

"We'll see about that, old man."

The Empoleon charged, water forming beneath its wings as it jet towards the Machamp. The Machamp crossed its four arms and stood its ground as the steel bird crashed against him with the force of a Tsunami. Machamp took a single step back and the Empoleon could make no more progress.

The Empoleon used the force of the impact to jump back and blast a torrential force of water at the Machamp, sending it backwards a step further.

The Machamp ran toward the Empoleon, jumped into the air and disappeared as it eclipsed the sun. It struck the Empoleon with such force that the buildings to the side began to crumble from the shockwave. Gillian steeled himself. Dynamic Punch—Chuck's secret technique. It was fitting, Gillian thought, that Chuck's granddaughter had mastered such a devastating move.

Huck's building began to crumble. He jumped from fallen debris to fallen debris like stones in a river. Below, his Machoke was going toe to toe with the Doublade. "Perfection, Mistress! Such an earth shattering move will seal this match in our favor!"

The Empoleon reeled and righted itself. It attempted to throw a wind at the Machamp. Machamps eye gleamed as it detected the attack, mid thrust. Its powerful arm grabbed the Empoleon and tossed it straight into the atmosphere. The penguin rocketed through the cloud line and disappeared.

Gillian knew he was beat. He raised his arms in surrender, but Gaap did not accept. She ran at superhuman speed into the arms of her Machamp. The duo locked arms and it swung its master toward the steel master. Her foot connecting against his jaw in a bone-crunching kick. Gillian howled and gurgled as the jaw broke from his face. He fell to the ground writhing in agony.

"I never liked the look on your face," Gaap said as she stood over the broken and sobbing man. "This can only be an improvement."


	15. Part 10-2: All that for One Small Laugh

10.5

[5:22 PM. Olivine City Hospital, Lorelei's Room. Olivine City. The same day.]

The nurse attendant checked the various instruments hooked up to the old woman. The monitor gently beeped as the woman's chest rose and fell with each labored breath.

The nurse held her breath and placed a get-well card on the desk. A middle aged woman had delivered it to the center earlier today. The nurse would never admit it, but the sight of the bald and burned body of the woman terrified her. She looked away and left the room, turning the light off behind her.

Lorelei felt the woman leave. The pain in her skin itched like a swarm of insects crawling over her body. She struggled to adjust but could not move. Consigned to her bed, she simply allowed her mind to wander.

Her mind drifted to her daughter. She tried to picture her but the memory seemed fuzzy. She tried picturing her home on Four Island—fuzzy. Everything in her mind seemed distorted, static.

She was not alone.

The presence was faint at first, then slowly metastasized. She felt the cold other-worldly sensation of not being alone in her own mind. She tried to ignore the intruder, but as she thought, her mind turned to a terrible storm of static. She tried to scream. She tried to escape.

"You have something I need, Lorelei."

Lorelei remained silent in her mind.

"Death is such a messy thing—much simpler to just…wipe the slate clean."

Lorelei tried to picture her daughter, her birth, her earliest memory—a walk in the park, a birthday, her first battle. They all began to melt in her mind. The faces erased themselves.

The presence in her mind laughed, and if that nurse had lingered in her room, she would have heard a small laugh escape from the comatose woman.


	16. Part 11: The Common Man

11

[4:14 PM. Tohjo Falls, at the base of Mt. Silver. The same day.]

The cave had a damp smell of anticipation.

Porter stepped into the cave after effortless barreling through Victory Road. He let the roar of the massive Tohjo Falls rush over him. The soft spray lashed at his face. It was cool inside. He scanned the area for Cain.

"I'm up here," Cain said, "I thought I told you to leave well enough alone?"

Porter tensed. Their last encounter had gone less than ideally. His Slaking was in no condition to fight, but he hoped that Cain's Conkledurr was in a similar position. Fighting specialists had never given Porter much pause; he had ways of dealing with them, and daily sparring sessions with Gaap never hurt either. Cain was ruthless, however. Never once had he seen a man so given in to hate and power. Without Slaking, this fight would be much more difficult.

But he had to end this now.

Porter could only guess as to what this madman's ultimate goal was. He could only guess as to how the others were faring. He could only guess as to the final fate of Cealdon city. Cain seemed the last obstacle in finding out, and Porter was a curious man.

"I guess I'm just not a good listener, huh?"

"I'll say. Didn't you get enough of a lashing the first time?"

Porter chuckled defensively. "If I recall correctly, we ended on much of a standoff. A stalemate, if you will."

"Stalemate my rear," Cain bellowed. "I had you running scared."

"Also, I remember it being you who ran away, not me." He loosened up his tie and rolled up his sleeves.

"We each got our own version of events. Let's see who gets to tell their tale. Winners and history books and all that."

"Perhaps if you ever picked up a history book, you would know that it never ends well for people like you."

From the center of the waterfall, a Poliwrath jet forward straight for Porter. It raised its fist but Porter steeled himself and caught the fist as it connected. With his free hand he released his Braviary that screeched into the echoing cavern. The Braviary tackled the Poliwrath, taking the pressure from Porter.

Poliwrath moved to strike the Braviary as it flew in a circle overhead. Its fist began to crystallize before it struck the Braviary, the ice crippled the wings of the eagle. In defiance, the Braviary launched the Poliwrath, taking them both into the waterfall. The sounds of struggle emanated from the fall.

The Barviary shot out from the waterfall in obvious pain. It circled over head, letting the water dry from its feathers. The Poliwrath stepped from the cave and stood underneath the waterfall. It closed its eyes and tightened its focus.

"Braviary, interrupt that attack!"

"Too late! Focus Punch!"

The Braviary was already speeding towards the Poliwrath as the spiral pokemon opened its eyes. The punch it delivered caught Braviary right in the beak. Blood mixed with the mist of the waterfall. Porter rushed to return the wounded pokemon to its ball.

Cain laughed maniacally. Porter wiped the sweat from his face. He had only one more pokemon and this madman seemed still good to go. He couldn't let this freak escape. There was no telling what chaos he could cause with such blatant disregard for life and limb. He reached for a small flute at his belt.

Cain guffawed at the display. "That's it? That's the great Porter's last hurrah? A flute? I'm sure Poliwrath will enjoy a lively tune as he smashes your stupid face in."

Porter ignored the large buffoon and began to play. The melody reflected off the asymmetrical walls of the cave; its haunting notes cascading with the flow of the waterfall. Even Cain stopped laughing as he felt somewhat soothed by the tune. He fought the feeling of relaxation.

"Please, hear me."

The song ended. Porter stood firm, hoping with all his being that his companion would hear him. A moment stretched towards eternity.

"What a lovely song," Cain mocked. "Sure was beautiful. Shame I'm gonna have to kill you now."

The Poliwrath jumped towards Porter. The common man closed his eyes and trusted in his music. The Poliwrath never connected; it stood, frozen to the spot as the same haunting melody echoed, this time delivered on an angelic voice. The song became louder and louder, but it never increased in harshness or intensity. The tiny sprite of Meloetta flittered down from above onto the back of the Poliwrath. The Poliwrath was immobilized by its enrapturement in the song. The Meloetta whispered into Poliwrath's ear.

The Poliwrath nodded and turned away from Porter. Cain seethed with anger. "Poliwrath! I command you! Do not listen to that siren!"

The Poliwrath ignored its master. It leapt into the water and swam briskly underneath the inky surface, never to return. Cain lashed out in anger. "Machamp! Bury this fool and his whore with this mountain!" The Machamp escaped and moved quicker than Meloetta could begin singing again. It took a few steps before leaping up and striking Porter with a punch to the gut. The man fell to his knees and began to vomit blood and bile. Porter coughed and saw the Machamp stand triumphantly above him. Meloetta's song turned dischordant, and Porter tried to cover his ears, but the sound slipped in. He felt rage and anger like he had never felt before. The Machamp froze and turned back on its trainer. The Meloetta scowled as its fiery song ricocheted off the walls. The Machamp leapt before Cain could react. It gripped its former master by the head with one of its massive arms. Cain began to scream, his cries for help absorbed into the terrible rhapsody. The Machamp dragged him down and submerged him beneath the water. The brute kicked and lashed out but could not break the superpower pokemon's iron grip. Eventually the bubbles and thrashing stopped, and the Machamp released Cain into the river where he sunk. The Meloetta disappeared and returned to the place from whence it came. The Machamp regarded Porter for a bit before trekking off into the depths of the cavern, Porter was alone. He felt another spasm of pain wrack his body and he vomited again.

He lost track of time before a cold voice woke him up. Claudia was bent over him, cleaning him up. Her evening gown was immaculate for having trekked through Victory Road.

"I got him," he managed weakly.

"At considerable peril to yourself."

"Lighten up, Claudia, don't be such a hag."

Claudia slipped him some medicine. "Sabrina lost." Her voice was even and betrayed no emotion. "Unlucky, it would seem. As I watched the battle, I could sense that she could have won. Something must've happened."

Porter laughed despite the biting pain in his abdomen. "Luck was never part of the equation."

Claudia looked at him like a child does a strange insect. "Sabrina told you that when you left to pursue Cain. Why?"

"Because it was all part of her plan. Every bit of it. She out-thought the kid."

"It would seem a foolish plan to allow yourself to be defeated."

"You didn't know her like I did, Claudia. She was an incredible woman."

"You can pay your respects after we get you patched up. Hector sits on the Champions throne."

"Champion…Octavius! Is his family okay? Is he alright?"

Claudia remained silent and continued to treat Porter's injuries.

"He's not dead, is he?"

"Not yet."

Porter sighed in relief. "And Santiago?"

"After tending to his master, the silent one is returning to Indigo Plateau. We are to meet him there."

"Excellent. Take me there." Claudia helped him stand and he threw his arm over her as they exited the cavern in tandem.


	17. Part 12: A Brief Moment of Hesitation

12

[7:53 PM. Vermillion City Refugee Shelters, Vermillion City. The same day.]

A small boy rushed past the Kanto Representatives as they approached the shelter.

Moira moved to follow the boy, but Werner put a large hand on her shoulder. He removed the cigar from his mouth, stomped what was left of it into the ground, and pulled her back. "Let him go."

Moira turned to her mentor. She bore a look of abject shock. "What?"

"He's probably had a rough day; the worst day of his life, I'd wager. Best to let them deal with it on their own."

"But he's just a kid!"

"And so are you."

Moira froze. In that moment, Werner seemed more like her father and less like the representative for Kanto than he ever did her entire life.

"Just let him go, Mo. He'll come back. Let him run out his frustration. Let him vent."

Moira nodded. Ian held the door open for Werner and Moira. The sight inside the shelter was disturbing, even for today's events. In the center of the warehouse, several nurses stood frozen in shock. All of them were dripping with some sort of viscous liquid. The entire warehouse was silent. The body of a Beedril lay on the floor.

"What in the hell happened here?"

A sheepish looking doctor stepped forward. "It…it didn't make it."

Ian stepped forward, past the doctors and nurses towards the body of the Beedrill. He took to fingers to the ooze that coated the carcass. With years of Ranger training, he sniffed it lightly. He wiped it off on his pants.

"That's liquid eviolite. This Beedrill died while evolving."

The doctor shook Werner's hand. "I'm Dr. Gil, Vermillion City Pokemon Center. You are?"

"Werner, Kanto Representative to the Tohjo Summit."

"Tohjo…summit?"

Werner waved him aside. "Long story. Who's in charge here?"

"Well, sir, that would be me, of course, well, until Master Kai returns."

Werner pulled Gil aside to talk logistics. A small girl walked forward with a shy Clefairy trailing behind her. She tugged on Moira's shirt. "Excuse me, miss? Did you see a boy kinda my height leave as you came in?"

Moira got down on to the girl's level. "Yeah, I did. Why? Is he your brother?"

"No, not my brother. I just met him today. His Kakuna was very sick." She peeked over at the Beedrill's corpse. "I guess it's not sick anymore."

Moira put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'll go find him. It's getting cold out there. No need for him to be out there in the dark by himself."

Moira grabbed Ian. "I'm gonna go look for that kid."

Ian regarded her. "Didn't Werner say.—"

"That Beedrill was his, Ian. His. I'm gonna go find him."

"Don't be gone too long. We need to find the…" He looked over his shoulder. "The bombs."

Moira nodded. She understood perfectly. Finding the kid would mean nothing if they couldn't stop the bombs.

"You need to get these people out of here."

"I know. I'm thinking."

She nodded and headed out the door into the cool night. She tried to follow the path the boy had taken. After a few minutes of wandering around in the dark, she came to a tall tree near the bay. The boy was curled underneath the branches. Moira could hear the muffled sounds of a child crying. She slowly approached, as one would a Stantler, careful not to scare it away.

"Go away," the boy said.

She took another step towards him. "I'm not gonna hurt you, can we talk?"

"I don't wanna talk."

"I understand. Maybe I can talk, and you can listen?"

The boy did not move. Moira walked forward and took a seat next to him; he had stopped crying, probably trying to act strong. Moira shivered in the breeze. "My name's Mo, what's yours?"

The boy looked up."Mo? That's a boy's name."

Moira chuckled. "You're right. My real name's Moira, but everyone calls me Mo."

"Moira? I like that better. It's pretty."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"My name's Lexie."

"That's a pretty name, too!"

Lexie stared at her, obviously upset that she had implied he was pretty. "What do you want, anyway?"

"I just want to talk. I met a little girl inside around your age and she was worried about you."

"Oh, that's Hayley."

"Is Hayley your friend?"

"No, I just met her. Tell her I'm fine, and that she needs to stop worrying."

"How about you tell her yourself?"

Lexie shook his head. "I'm not going in there."

Moira understood. "That was your Beedrill in there, wasn't it?"

At this, Lexie stood with his face down and began to cry again. He beat the side of the tree with his hand with such vigor, such rage, that it scared Moira. Screeching pokemon flew out in surprise from the tree.

"I lost a pokemon close to me, too."

He ceased his pounding. "You did?"

"My Nidoking. I'd had him since before I was your age, when he was just a little Nidoran. He was my friend. A bad man took him away from me."

"A bad man took my Weedle from me, too," he said as he slinked down against the tree. "I hate bad people."

Moira reached out for him. She took him in for a hug. "I do too, Lexie. I do too."

As the wind picked up, Moira heard a small screeching nearby. She released Lexie from the hug and moved to investigate. In his fit, Lexie had dislodged a small Noibat that puffed itself up and swaggered at her. "Lexie, come look at this."

The boy sniffled and wiped his nose. He looked at the fallen pokemon and shuddered involuntarily. "I hate bats."

Moira pulled his arm. She produced a gleaming red pokeball from her satchel and put it into Lexie's hand. "Go on, try and catch it; it's pretty young, so you should be able to fairly easily. No one should ever be alone—especially now."

Lexie held the ball in his hand. He stared at the Noibat that screeched in defense. All he could picture was the monstrous bat that had slain his companion. He fought back tears. "This one's for you, Mom!" he yelled as he threw the ball. In a flash of red, the bat was inside the capsule which began to rock back and forth. Both trainers held their breath, and then the rocking stopped. A faint click signified that he had done it. Lexie hesitated to pick up the ball, but as he did, he felt a surge of courage and raised it above his head. "I did it!"

Moira could only smile as the boy danced beneath the tree, gripping his newest companion with all his might, as if the slightest gust of wind would carry it away.

From a distance, perched atop a building, Vyro watched the two under the trees. Something tugged at him, a brief moment of hesitation. He took the detonator from his pocket, looked at it, and then tossed it onto the ground, stomping it underfoot.

"Waste of my time anyway." He leapt atop his Noivern and disappeared into the night.


	18. Part 12-2: Junior

12.5

[10:21 PM. Silph Co. Head Quarters boardroom. 30th floor. Saffron City. The same day.]

There was a knock at the door

Dorian Silph took a moment to look up from his notes. "Back so soon, Grayson?"

Absol was pacing. Normally asleep by now, there had only been a handful of times Dorian had seen her like this; not one of them was a particularly pleasant memory. He placed the dossier on the long mahogany table and wheeled himself over towards Absol. She tensed and shuddered before leaving the room through the back. Dorian was alone, facing the door.

The handle turned slowly and the door creaked open. The shadow of tall man rushed inside the boardroom, lit only by the hissing fireplace.

The man stepped inside and removed his coat. "Were you expecting someone this evening, father? Am I interrupting anything?"

"Ah, Junior. Please come in."

The man nodded and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. He stretched his arms and yawned. "Thank you. You're looking well."

Dorian chuckled and began to wheel himself over towards his end of the table. The man waved him aside and pushed the president. Dorian began to cough violently. "I've been better."

The younger Dorian pulled a chair next to his father. "Violet and I are keeping you in our thoughts."

"That's very kind of you, but I'd prefer if that wife of yours did more to keep me in this boardroom and out of a home."

"Violet is…ambitious."

"Though a Silph in name, I will burn this empire to the ground before I see anyone but you or your son in this room."

"Isadora is the oldest, you know. She has the ambition and drive; Ian can only seem to think of pokemon."

"It will be Ian in this room when you leave it to him, and that's all I have to say on the matter."

"Of course, Father."

Dorian softened. "How is Isadora? How does she like it in Dewford City?"

"She sings its praises. The Gym is a busy as ever. She wants to get you over there as soon as you can make the trip."

"I'll tell my secretary to try and arrange something. What about you? How did you find Sinnoh?"

"Still standing," he said, "and cold."

"Good, good…always liked Sinnoh. It seems like a good place to retire."

The younger Dorian laughed. "You'll never retire, father."

Dorian looked longingly into the fire. "Too true. I trust all went well?"

"Jubilife is bustling as always. The TV center and the Global Trade system both posted nearly 65% profit increases this quarter."

"What about Miller and his Poketch?"

"Not for sale."

"Everything's for sale, my boy."

Junior smiled and placed a newspaper in front of his father. "I assume you heard about this."

The headline read: MASSIVE TERRORIST BOMBING IN CELADON CITY—THOUSANDS PRESUMED DEAD

Dorian pored over the paper. It was a rough mock-up, an editor's copy, perhaps. "Where did you get this?"

"I heard of the attacks on the flight over. I had Violet pull some strings. That's not the part I'm concerned with." He took the paper from his father and folded it to the third page. POKEMON LEAGUE CHAMPION HOSPITALIZED IN THUNDEROUS FIGHT WITH MYSTERIOUS MAN. An amateur picture accompanied the article, an old man with a thick moustache walking through the rain with a deep gash across his chest."

"That's Grayson, isn't it?"

Dorian took the paper back and stared into the picture. He laid it down over the blanket across his legs, leaned back in his chair, closed his tired eyes, and exhaled.


	19. Part 13: Santiago

13

[3:44 AM. Hall of Champions, Indigo Plateau. The next morning.]

The doors opened for Santiago without him needing to move.

The man stepped into the massive shell white amphitheatre, his sandals rabbits' feet on new snow. He removed the top of his robe and it hung at his waist, where his sword was tied to the red sash. The room stank of death. He tightened his grip on his sword. Hector sat in the highest chair, lazily drowsing off, head rested uncaringly on his hand. He opened an eye, then closed it as if he was disappointed by what he saw.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"They will not be joining us, I'm afraid."

"Unfortunate. I had anticipated on taking out you along with the others. No I suppose I'll have to find them myself. What a bother.

"While the Champion still stands, none shall sit on his throne but him. I am here to remove you from the premises, alive if possible, so that you may face trial for your crimes here."

"You may find that harder than you imagine, swordsman. I will not so easily be moved." He righted himself in the chair without moving his body."

"The murder of Mistress Sabrina is an unforgiveable crime. I will ask you once more to step from the throne."

"You have inherited much from your master, your stalwart determination, you will of stone. I will enjoy cracking the geode of your mind."

"By order of the Pokemon League, and the power granted to me by Octavius, Champion of the League, I condemn you and your cohorts wherever they may be, as enemies of the continued stability and peace of Tohjo."

"Spare me the formalities, swordsman, I have heard this speech several times already in your head. I know that you have a tinge of fear in your heart after learning I had killed Sabrina. I know you worry about your Master as he lies broken. I know you will lead with Kabutops and attempt to slash at me in tandem, hoping that Kabutops's double-team will be enough to counter my telepathy. I know that you received that Kabutops as a Kabuto from Octavius when you visited Pewter city when you were only fifteen years old. I know that you have prepared for the event that I could read your plan, so you attempted to hide the fact that you had released your Samurott into the fountain before you entered by repeating your speech over in your head. I know that your Gyrados has mastered the Hyper Beam and you attempt to use it as a last resort in the off chance that I was able to discern your first ruse. You intend to bring the hall around my ears, and while I am distracted by the falling roof, you plan to eviscerate me with that blade of yours."

Santiago stared blankly.

"Oh yes, swordsman," Hector chuckled. "I know a great many things about you."

There was no other plan of attack, no Plan B. He had already calculated his battle plan; it was the only viable option against someone who could read minds, but if Hector had already adjusted for his strategy, he would have to surprise him.

"Samurott! Now!"

A tidal wave of water poured into the chamber. The wave crashed into the hall and struck the thrones with the force of a broken damn. The samurai surfed in, raging as it moved to strike the telepath, it drew it's blades, but Hector vanished, reappearing hovering in the air above the water. The Samurott's blades cut cleanly through the back of the Champion's throne. The marble slab slid into the water like a depth charge.

Santiago ran over the water as if it were a meadow, each step of his sandal like a skipping stone. Using a throne as a focus, he jumped into the air, sword drawn. There was no anger in his eyes, no fury—just a serene calm that radiated outwards. Hector studied him for a microsecond then repositioned himself behind the swordsman. The Samurott emerged from the water and stuck the psychic, cleaving him two. The image of Hector disappeared and two halves of a small plushie fell into the water. From somewhere in the hall, Hector laughed.

Santiago dove underwater, even in the muffled silence of the water, he could hear Hector's laughter. Slowly he resurfaced, standing lightly on the surface. With a wave of his hand, the marble doors shut and the torrent of water halted. Samurott's head bobbed from below.

"Show yourself," he said. "Only a coward refuses to face his opponent."

"A coward, you say?" a woman's voice cooed soflty. Santiago gripped his sword. The spectral image of Sabrina flittered down and hovered just above the water line. She looked much younger, her dark green hair catching the light reflected from the water and white walls. Santiago had never seen her like this. She looked so powerful, not wise as he had known her.

"We'll see who the coward is when you beg me to kill you," she whispered into his ear, appearing behind him. Samurott launched itself into the apparition which laughed as it phased through, crashing back into the water. "Good try. I thought you were supposed to be a good learner. Octavius talks about you all the time."

"Is this a battle of wits, or a pokemon battle?"

"It can be whatever you like." Sabrina placed her hand onto his chest. The chill of etherium racked his body as the hand slipped through. "Such a strong heart. Octavius has taught you well. Shame you couldn't save him." He felt her take his heart in her cold hands and lightly massage it. "You do so much for him, but he never appreciates you. I can't imagine what that must feel like."

It took all of his might to keep a steady gaze as he locked eyes with Sabrina.

"Good thing I don't have to." Sabrina took her free hand and slipped it inside his head. His head screamed in agony and he could feel the heat of a fever hit him like a train. "Ah, there it is! You resent him for that. An understandable emotion. Be sure to tell him if he ever wakes up. Why did you leave his side, again?"

"So I could bring you to justice. There was nothing I could do there. I was needed here."

"Needed…that's such a strong word. Are you sure you weren't just trying to play the hero now that the second fiddle gets a solo?"

He remained silent.

"We'll I'm the conductor of this symphony, and your solo's been cut."

She gripped his heart and warning klaxons went off all over his body. He flinched as he could feel the paralyzing grip slowly choke his heart.

_It's would be so easy for me to just snuff the life out of you, you know that?_

_ Give me one reason_

_ Just one, and I'll let go._

"I can hear you."

Before Sabrina could react, he plunged his sword into his abdomen. He grunted as the blade cut through, blood dripping from the edge into the water. The voice in his head screamed and disappeared. Hector appeared in the Champion's throne once more; this time, however, he clutched a clean wound to the stomach. Santiago ripped the sword like a weed from his gut and brandished it, sending his own blood flying.

"Try not to blink."

A monstrous Kabutops emerged from the water behind the throne and gripped the telepath, the blades digging into his skin as he struggled. Santiago cleaned his blade in the water and pointed it at Hector.

"By order of the Pokemon League, and the power granted to me by Octavius, Champion of the League, I condemn you and your cohorts wherever they may be, as enemies of the continued stability and peace of Tohjo."

He rushed towards the man but froze an inch from plunging his sword and ending the man's life. He forced with all his might the hilt of the sword but it would not budge. Kabutops was similarly powerless.

Hector laughed. "To think I would so easily be bested is a fool's dream. I am leagues ahead of you; I have seen you, your past, your future, and I am disappointed. The Kabutops's scythes began to uncurl from the throne. "Bad luck, swordsman, but it ends here."

_Luck was never part of the equation_

Santiago could feel the psychic shock from where he stood. Hector grabbed at his head and screamed in pain. Feeling the pressure subside, he drove the sword though Hector's heart. The telepath gave a surprised cough of blood, then died. Santiago lifted the body with his sword and let it drop into the water. A red cloud rose to the top. He looked up and caught the eyes of an old Alakazam. It nodded at the swordsman then disappeared.


	20. Part 14: Picking Up the Pieces

14

[7:02 AM. Outside the Vermillion City Gym. Vermillion City. The morning after.]

Ian and Kai shook hands.

"I didn't think I would be seeing you so soon after the other day. And now you're leaving again? Are you sure I can't convince you to stay another day? The people of both Celadon and Vermillion are in your debt."

"Another time, my friend," Ian said. "And try and play down the hero thing, would you?"

"But Ian, without you, we wouldn't have known about those bombs. How they got there, I'll never know, but if you hadn't warned us…"

Ian shook his head. "Kai, they weren't even on. Please, I don't want them thinking I'm something I'm not."

"Very well," Kai laughed. "Whatever you say; you're welcome back anytime. I'm sure I'll have my hands full, but I can always make time for you and your friends."

Ian looked around to the mass of people grouped in and around the warehouses. The Celadon Diaspora was spread throughout Kanto. Ian shuddered to think of the final death toll. This couldn't be their home, the refugees had no home now, and it wouldn't be long before Vermillion could not support them. The Warehouse district could only hold so many people.

Kai sensed his unease. "We'll manage. I heard from one of them that Woody was killed when the bomb went off in his Gym. Without a leader, they'll be looking to me. I'll look after them." He put a hand on Ian's shoulder. "You get the bastard that did this."

Ian nodded. "I promise."

They shook hands again and Kai left to check in with the survivors.

Ian was left to his own devices for a spell; Werner was doing administrative things with some of the legal officers of Vermillion, no doubt trying to parlay an agreement from Indigo Plateau to help the displaced. With even his limited knowledge of political procedures, Ian knew that there was little Werner could say for certain, just promises and half truths; he would need the League to authorize anything substantial. Ian did not envy Werner for his role.

He found Moira inside the makeshift camp area where several adults were attending to clothes and other domestic affairs; their eyes looked tired and if one of them looked at you, you would get the feeling that they were constantly looking past you, but they carried on their work with a smile and a laugh, when they could manage. There was a small grassy field near one of the warehouses and kids were busy picking trash and having fun. He saw Moira seated on a milk crate while a young boy and girl spoke with wild gesticulation. They were laughing.

"Now remember—Lexie, Hayley—I'm trusting you both to keep things in good shape around here. Master Kai needs as much help as he can get, you got it?"

The young boy Moira had gone after the night before made a fist; a small Noibatt was perched on his shoulder. "You got it Miss Moira! You can count on me and Hayley to keep this place safe!"

"And Hayley, look after your mom especially. She'll need you as they look for your dad."

Hayley hugged her Clefairy. "Ok, Miss Mo."

Moira smiled and ruffled their hair. Hayley laughed, but Lexie thrashed, his Noibat giving panicked screeches. "Hey! I'm not a baby! I'm fearsome!"

Moira laughed, and Ian saw a look of genuine maternal love cross her face. "Oh yes you are, you are so fearsome!"

Lexie rushed off to help clear the field of trash, his Noibat furiously beating its wings behind him. "Good bye, Miss Mo."

Moira got on her knees and hugged the girl. "Good bye, Hayley. I'll come back and visit, okay?"

Hayley nodded. "Okay."

"You make sure that one doesn't get into too much trouble."

She smiled. "Right!"

"If you ever need anything or anything happens, you just find Master Kai, you remember Master Kai?"

"Mhm. He's the nice man that let us come to his city!"

"Exactly! Now my friend Ian here," she gestured to Ian, "Is a good friend of Kai's. If something goes wrong, we'll hear about it."

"Come back and see us, okay?"

"Of course, little bit," she said and gave the girl one last hug. Hayley and her Clefairy ran off to help Lexie and the others with the trash.

"What do we do now?" Ian asked Moira now that they were sufficiently alone.

"I don't know. I keep thinking Werner's gonna come out and tell us if it's safe to go back."

"Do you think they all made it out okay?" he asked.

"The Elite Four? Well, their tougher than us and we made it through just fine."

"Well, Moira, we didn't do anything."

"I hope they're okay. Cain was so much stronger than I imagined."

"I'm sure Porter and Sabrina took care of those guys."

"Yeah, you're right."

Werner found them as he exited the Pokemon Center. "We just got word that Mistress Gaap made it out of Celadon. They've deposited one of the terrorists off with Internal Affair and are meeting us on the road out of here."

"They captured one? Who?" Ian asked.

"The old man we saw. Gillian. He's in critical condition, but here's hoping he lives so I can beat the piss out of him. Gillian removed a cigar from his pack and lit it. He held it over the flame till thick, purple smoke poured from his nose. We've got a long trip ahead of us. Better get ready. We can take our time now. I think the worst is over."

"How can you be sure?" Moira asked.

"I got contact with Indigo Plateau about two hours ago. Porter confirmed they had taken care of Cain and Hector. He also said Professor Oak was able to stop the young woman."

"What about Octavius and his friend?"

Werner bit down on the end of his cigar. "Master Octavius is in the hospital after dealing with an unknown assailant. The reasonable assumption is that there was a fifth member. Santiago's report states the assailant was defeated, but at great peril to the Champion."

Ian shuddered. "Who could be so powerful as to match the Champion?"

"Reports from Cianwood are inconclusive, and I suppose we'll never know for sure until the old man wakes up."

Moira looked at Ian and embraced him in a hug. "It's over."

[9:31 AM. Vermillion City Refugee Warehouse #11. Vermillion City. The same day.

The clouds were getting darker.

Harley brushed at Mia's hair when she saw Dr. Garth return. "Any luck?" She shouted.

The doctor shook his head. "It's no use. There's way too many people to find just one guy. I put the word out, and he's a recognizable enough guy. If he made it back, we'll find him."

"You don't think he stayed out there all night, do you?" Mia asked.

"Can't say for sure," Harley said. "But if I know the Professor, he's not gonna be worried about a little rain."

"What if he lost?"

Harley looked to Garth who gave a quick, confused shrug. "I don't think he lost," Harley said. "He's a tough guy, getting back up like he dead. Where ever he is, we owe him big."

Mia allowed herself to smile. "Yeah, he's pretty awesome like that."

Harley laughed and spun her around. "Perfect," she said. "Why don't you go and show off your new 'do to that cute boy over there?" She pointed towards a group of guys around her age that were talking amongst themselves and sipping on water bottles. Mia blushed. "Do I have to?"

"Go on, get. They've never seen a girl as pretty as you. Plus, I imagine you could do a number on them with that team of yours if they pull any boy stuff."

Mia laughed and walked off. Harley turned to Garth.

"How long you think before it rains?" she asked.

"Couple of hours, maybe." That doesn't look like a drizzle." The clouds were metastasizing over the morning sky. "Did you find or hear anything about Miles and Molly?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Harley looked down. "Do you think Miles made the wrong choice, like that woman said."

"Helping people can never be the wrong choice. They'll turn up. All roads out of Celadon seem to come through here now."

"The world's going to hell now, isn't it?"

"And we don't have a paddle."

Harley laughed. "You're mixing your metaphors, Doctor."

"Never was good with words."

The wind began to pick up. She saw the Vermillion Gym Leader, a young man named Kai, approach.

"Harley, Dr. Garth?" he asked.

The two nodded. "I've been looking for you. I think I found one of yours. Do you have that girl with you?"

Harley turned and saw Mia flirting with the boys. She rolled her eyes and whistled. Mia turned and Harley gave the 'come here' gesture.

"You were right, those boys were pretty nice."

"Told you so, now we're going to go with Leader Kai, he may have found one of our friends."

Kai bowed low. "If you'll follow me.

The three followed behind. They entered the Pokemon Center and were taken to a room where an older man was propped up in bed reading the morning paper. "Ah, there you are."

Mia leapt and embraced Blue. "Ohohohoho, not so hard, child, you're getting pretty strong, too strong for these bones."

"Professor! You're okay!"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine, but look at you three! I'm so glad you made it out alright."

"Did you win?" she asked. Blue chuckled. "Did I win? Of course I won."

She punched his shoulder. "You're so cocky, Professor Oak!"

"Excuse me, Professor?" Harley said. "Did you happen to run into our two companions?"

Blue removed his glasses. I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about." He shook his head. "But I'm sure if they're as tough as you three, they made it out."

Harley bit her lip. "Yeah."

"Thank you, Kai. If you would, could you give us a moment?"

Kai bowed once more. "Of course, if you need me, Professor, you know where to find me." He left the room.

"We've got to get back to the Plateau," Blue said.

"Can Harley and Garth come with us?"

"I don't see why not. I owe you two for looking after her for me. What do you say?"

Garth hesitated. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll stay here, help out, you know, I am a doctor."

Harley looked at Mia and then at Garth. "I'm going to stay with Garth and wait for our friend."

Blue nodded. "Very wise. I must thank you again for what you've done for me. Now, Mia, do you have your things?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, we'll be leaving soon. Harley, Garth: thank you again." He shook their hands.

"Thank you too, Professor," Harley said as she turned to leave.

[8:52 PM. Vermillion City Warehouse District. Vermillion City. That night.

After the children's bed time, Lexie snuck out.

He released the Noibat from his ball and allowed the cool rain to wash over him. The Noibat shook itself like a Herdier and flew over towards one of the buildings. "Come back here, Noy!"

He chased after his pokemon in the rain. The wind picked up and the first thunderclap rumbled in the clouds. In the dark he stumbled over something. His Noibat had flown into a crawlspace in the roof of a building, shielding it from the rain. He stood up and wiped the gravel from his knees. The object he had tripped over was a curiously shaped rock; he picked it up and wiped it on his shirt.

He held in his hands a single black mask.


	21. Part 14-2: The Last Firefighter

14.5

[6:22 PM. Route 7. Between Celadon and Saffron. The next day.]

Molly stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

Miles took a water bottle from his pack and tossed it to his companion. "Not too much farther now. You can almost see Saffron from here."

Molly took a swig of the bottle then offered it to Miles who declined. "I'm good."

They had been travelling since mid morning after spending the night in Celadon. Miles studied the woman; she was definitely tougher than she looked. She had spirit.

"Looks like rain," Miles said gesturing at the clouds.

"Think we can make it?"

Miles nodded. "If we keep moving, it shouldn't be a problem."

Molly stretched out in the half-sunn of the partial overcast. "So, why Saffron? Why not Vermillion, try and catch up with your friends?"

Miles shook his head. "We sent everyone we found there, it's gonna be a madhouse over there, and I'm no refugee."

"But your friends?"

"They didn't make it."

She flinched. "What? How do you know?"

"Those two couldn't stand up to that woman. If she's as cold as I think she is, she tore them to pieces. They bought us time to get out, and that's what matters."

Miles set out to move on, but Molly stood, challenging him with her stare. The man exhaled. "Are you coming or not?"

"You don't believe in them? You don't think they could win?"

"Molly, listen to me—Harley's just some waitress from Kalos working her way around the world, and Garth's a doctor, a good doctor, mind you, but not a battler, not a ranger."

"And you're just a firefighter."

"A firefighter who made it out alive. The last firefighter out of Vermillion. I'll take my chances out here."

"How can you even say that? Your friends might have made it out, or worse, they didn't, and you won't even think to check? After they gave you that chance?"

Miles turned to face Molly, and it was now that she saw how large he really was. "Do you think I want them to be dead? We nearly bit the dust twice, and you want to go back there? I know a suicide mission when I see one. You want to go, be my guest. I'm heading for Saffron."

He turned and walked away. "If those psycho's are still running around, you'd have been better off in that elevator. I'm gonna teach you a life lesson, free of charge: don't look back. You never want to see what you left behind."

As she watched him go, she felt her confidence slip. Something about him disturbed her, but she couldn't help but trust him. Maybe this was how he dealt with this nightmare; maybe he was just a jerk after sleeping on cold pavement then walking for hours. Maybe he just needed someone to remind him that the world still existed, that it hadn't all fallen apart around his ears. She ran up beside him.

"You're right, I'm sorry." She said. Miles didn't respond; he simply kept walking. "But you didn't have to be an ass about it. I'm not gonna ditch you. I figure we got better odds sticking together."

"You're learning," he said. "I wasn't always a firefighter. I was a Ranger not too long ago, badge and everything."

"Why did you stop?"

"I didn't stop, Molly, I was released."

"Why?"

"I looked back, endangered the mission. It's like I said: you don't want to see what you left behind."

She did not press further. As the sun was devoured by the clouds while it began to dip under the horizon, Molly saw a figure seated at a rock by the roadside. The man turned his head to face the two as they approached. His clothes were torn and garish and his face was burned. Molly tugged at Miles's shirt and pointed at the man.

"Should we stop?"

"It's my job to help anyone especially after this crisis." He scouted around, surveying the empty fields on either side of the road. "But that doesn't mean I'm not hesitant."

_But you couldn't bother to help your friends?_

They approached the man and he waved weakly. Molly got down and offered him some water from the pack. Eagerly, he grabbed it from her and began to drink. "Thank you kindly, strangers."

"You come out from Celadon?"

The man nodded. "Sure did. And all I got to show for it is this." He pointed to his burnt face. The man looked to be pretty young, younger than Miles, at least. He had a child like face underneath messy hair.

"Where are you headed?" Miles asked.

The man shrugged. "Me and Noivern just got out as quick as we could and started walking. Saw a sign a ways back that said we we're heading to Saffron. Sounded good to me, and Noivern here isn't complaining."

"We're heading to Saffron, too. Why don't you join us? It's gonna rain soon, and that ankle doesn't look too good." Miles pointed at the man's ankle. It was swollen and discolored.

"Took a tumble down a flight off stairs."

Miles helped the man to his feet. He brushed him off and the man bowed low to them both. "What's your name, friend?"

The man checked his belt for his pokemon. "You can call me Vi."


	22. Part 15: From the Ashes

15

[7:30 PM. Hall of the Champions. Indigo Plateau. The same day.]

Ian stood silent behind Werner.

The hall seemed empty compared to the last time it had convened. Four seats were empty. No one sat in the Champion's throne, half of the slab having been lost in fight between Hector and Santiago. Santiago was especially quiet in the seat next to the empty throne. His robes were stained red and a large bandage covered his mid section. Gaap did not look lazy, instead she sat straight in her chair. Porter and Claudia regarded each other coolly across the circle. The seat between Claudia and Werner was empty. No one spoke of Sabrina. Rena and Elm were absent. Blue looked out over his folded hands.

"There have been no demands, I take it?" Blue broke the silence.

"None so far," Gaap said. "The one Internal Affairs has in custody is, unsurprisingly, not talking." Claudia stifled a chuckle from across the circle.

"What would Octavius do in this situation?" Porter asked.

"Octavius's situation is perilous, but he has made it apparent that he wishes to remain in Cianwood, until his condition improves."

Porter darkened. "Then I believe we must decide on a new champion for the time being." Santiago sat up straighter in his chair and smoothed out his robes. "I nominate Professor Blue Oak."

Santiago froze. From behind Blue, Mia gave a silent cheer.

"A wise a man as I have ever known. I know that Octavius and Professor Oak are good friends and he would often ask the professor his opinions. Often, when I would ask Octavius for guidance, he would refer me to Professor Oak. I trust his counsel."

"What of his responsibilities as Gym Leader and Professor?" Santiago brought up. "Is he not needed elsewhere?"

Porter caught the man's eye. "I know that you are a strong an powerful trainer, Santiago, and that your performance against Hector was admirable, but the professor's actions against Naomi were equally impressive. He is also older, wiser than I believe you to be. That is why I nominate him, not out of spite for you, but for the good of this land."

"I respectfully disagree, Master. I am the reserve Champion—"

"And as such, you are not one of the Elite Four and have no say on this matter., Santiago."

He fell silent.

"I support this nomination," Werner said. "I can attest to the professor's wisdom. I believe that Professor Oak can be a Champion that Kanto can trust."

"And what of Johto?" Claudia asked. "Will they not take offense to the ascension of one so grounded in Kanto life?"

"I believe as a Pokemon Professor, Oak can safely speak on behalf of all of Tohjo," Werner replied.

"We also do not know to what extent the people of Johto have fallen susceptible to the pervasiveness of these terrorists. What do you think, Gaap?"

Gaap thought for a moment. "Yeah, Oak helped me catch my first Pokemon on a trip to Viridian with my folks. He's an alright guy, and from what I heard about how he dealt with that Naomi woman in Celadon, yeah, I'd like to have him in a fight."

Porter nodded. "And Claudia?"

"While I recognize Santiago's potential and claim, until we can be sure of Octavius's ultimate fate, it would be best if we elected someone who can be a temporary Champion. Oak is ideal in that regard."

Santiago shook his head. "It is decided, then," Porter boomed. "Professor Oak? What do you have to say about your nomination?"

Blue looked up and around at the trainers seated before him. "It has always been a dream of mine to become champion, but those days are long gone. However, I cannot refuse such an honor, and I will do my best to serve the League and this land until Octavius returns."

Porter motioned for Blue to stand and directed him to the Champion's throne. Blue seated himself and looked out once more from his new vantage point. He felt powerful by proxy, no doubt a resurging of his old competitive streak.

"I would like to nominate Santiago to fulfill the empty seat left by Mistress Sabrina."

Santiago looked stunned. Porter chuckled to himself. "He has served this league with dignity and I believe he should be rewarded in kind. Perhaps this will give him some perspective into your lives and actions. When Octavius returns, he may resume his apprenticeship or he may remain as a member of the Elite Four. He has earned that much."

Santiago left his seat next to Blue and bowed low. "Thank you for this, Professor." He seated himself between Claudia and Werner.

"Now what remains is what is to be done about this," Porter said. "National integrity must be maintained, however, I suspect the people of Kanto will be unwilling to take this attack lying down."

"Until we can prove to what extent Johto was involved in the bombings, it would be best to treat this for what it is: an act of terrorism. If proof surfaces that implicates a third party, only then would it be prudent to act against Johto," Blue said.

"But they themselves called themselves of Johto!" Werner said.

"They may call themselves pokemon for all the good it would do us," Blue replied. "If Johto does not claim them, they are ideological orphans."

"And what of the people of Kanto? Will they accept such mincing of words?"

"They must, for the stability of this country."

"More information is required. I will go to Johto and begin my search," Claudia said.

"What about the other regions?" Gaap asked. "Surely the news has reached them by now."

"Perhaps a delegation will be sent to the other regions. A pledge of support in the event of a conflict would put the Kantonese mind at ease." Claudia suggested.

"In time," Blue agreed. "For now we must turn our eyes homeward."

Claudia gave assent and slowly disappeared.

"I agree." Santiago said. "It's what Octavius would want."

"Then it is settled; Claudia will go to Johto and attempt to uncover what has transpired. Until then, we cannot retaliate in haste. We will focus our energy in rebuilding Celadon and helping those displaced by the attack. "Ian, I understand you have a friend in Master Kai, the Gym Leader of Vermillion. I would ask that you go and help facilitate the transition."

"I'll go with him," Gaap said.

Blue nodded. "The rest of the League will remain here and wait for Claudia's return."


	23. Part 16: The Pale

16

[1:32. Lorelei's home. Four Island.]

Lorelei sipped on the cup of tea the man handed to her; chamomile, like her mother made her.

"I hope you are doing well, Lorelei."

"Thank you, Hector," she said. "I'm enjoying not being stuck in bed."

The man laughed. "That's good, that's good. You know, we were all rooting for you."

She smiled. "Everyone?" The man took a seat on the leather chair opposite the ice master. He removed his glasses and wiped them on his jacket. "Yes, everyone. Enjoying your tea?"

"It's excellent," she conceded. "This tastes like my mother's recipe."

"I found it taped to the counter."

She raised the cup in a small toast. "Flawlessly executed."

Hector sipped at his tea, enjoying the subtle flavors that permeated the brew. "Your mother had excellent taste."

"So why are you here, exactly, Hector?"

Hector smiled, "To wish you well, of course. And to catch up. It's been quite a long time. I came to visit you in Olivine, did you know that?"

"No," she shook her head. "And what would a young man like you be doing visiting me? Aren't you busy with the League?"

"Will taught me everything I know, it seemed right that I would visit his wife. How long has it been, if you don't mind me asking?"

Lorelei placed the cup and saucer on the table. She looked down. "Almost five years now."

Hector exhaled. "Five years? How have you been keeping up? How do you keep busy?"

"Well, I'm still reasonably active within the rangers, until the incident of course."

Hector reached out to touch Lorelei's hand. "I was told that you lost your partner in the attack." Lorelei said nothing. "Tragic, for one to have lost so much and still keep going is a marvel in and of itself."

"Honestly, I don't know what keeps me going sometimes." Her voice faded wistfully into the island breeze. "Are you going to tell me why you're really here?"

He smiled and reached for a folder in his bag. "I am here to discuss the night of your accident, actually."

Lorelei stiffened. "I had a feeling that's what this was about."

"Please, get comfortable, I know how much this is to deal with so soon after you get home, but there are things the League—we—need."

"I will do the best I can."

"What can I do to help the investigation?"

Hector looked wounded. "Investigation? This isn't so formal. We just want to know what happened."

She shook her head. Outside her window, the Wingull cried against the beating of the waves and the slow whistle of the wind. "Everything runs together."

"Please, what do you remember, Lorelei? We need to bring whoever did this to justice."

"I don't remember much, arriving at the facility, finding the hostages…" She ran a hand through her hair.

Her hair…

"And I remember…I remember the fire…I remember being burned."

Hector bit down on the end of his pen. "Do you remember who it was that ambushed you?"

"I never told anyone about that…"

Hector looked infinitely calm. "The name or the description of the man will do."

"Who are you?"

"The name or description, please, Lorelei."

"Where am I?"

"THE NAME OR DESCRIPTION."

Lorelei stood, but Hector moved to stop her. "You're agitated, upset. Obviously, the medications have addled your brain. Please, if I can just have his name, this can all end."

Lorelei felt her face flush, the room chilled and she noticed that the windows and doors were gone. There were no more quiet cries of Wingull at her deck. She reached for her belt, for her pokemon, but there were none.

"It didn't have to be like this, Lorelei. We can just end this if you simply tell me that name."

She fell to her knees, her head wracked in pain. She felt waves and waves of agony crash over the shore of her mind. Hector's face never abandoned the look of cool calculation.

"The name, please."

She could feel her resolve melt, her strength. Why couldn't she just tell him? Why was she protecting the name? It wasn't right; he wasn't right.

She had to tell Blue.

"Blue! Blue!"

"No one can hear you!"

She threw herself at him, and even with her old bones, she managed to hurl himself at the young man. He struck her, and she careened into the floor.

He stood over her and pressed a finger to her forehead. She cried out as the white hot pain shot through her body. Stars formed in her vision, then the room shattered, and she fell a long time, until she felt the cool of ice water take her. She surfaced, gasped, and checked her surroundings. She was adrift at sea, adrift in the deep ink of her unconsciousness; the icebergs sailed noiselessly across, slowly, like titans.

Someone reached her hand down to take Lorelei's. She was pulled up to the ice. She rested out at the feet of a young, intense looking woman.

"Don't worry; I have not abandoned you yet."

The piercing image of a Lorelei in her glory days blocked the sun. She helped the old woman stand. "We need each other; your experience, my vitality."

She nodded. Hector floated lazily above the frigid water. "Will this be very long?"

Young Lorelei turned to her older counterpart. "Just swim for the horizon, I can deal with this one." She gave a push for her over the edge. Lorelei could see the battle begin through the crest of the water, where the sun hit the water, before she disappeared.

[11:29 AM. Olivine City Hospital. Olivine City. The next day.]

Lorelei's eyes screamed as she fell from the bed.

She panted, feeling the first cool breath after days of stale air. All of her senses were alive, she felt the cool of the linoleum on her hands, the movement of the air from the air conditioner. Her voice caught in her dry throat; she tried to scream but couldn't. She lay there for a moment, dazed, confused, battered, and broken. Lorelei coughed and pulled the IVs from her arm, the saline drip, the air tube.

No one had come to her aid. No nurse, no attendant, no doctor, no orderly. She was alone. She took a moment to get to her feet; she felt gravity pull down on her. She took a step, then a second, then a third. She gripped the handle and turned it. No one was in the hall. She turned, meandered her way into the main lobby.

She found everyone. All the staff crowded around a television. Some covered their mouths, some looked away, and others began to cry. The rest were quiet.

On the television, live, Tin Tower burned.


	24. Part 16-2: R I G

16.5

[?. ?. ?. Three days ago]

Vyro's nose was bleeding. Grayson moved to eye level with the captive. Vyro looked into his eyes and saw nothing, not even age.

"What do you know about bombs?"

Vyro said nothing and meekly shook his head. Grayson turned around, then sucker punched Vryo in the mouth. Grayson shook out his hand. Vyro coughed blood over his shirt.

"Bombs, you imbecile. Bombs; what do you know about them, your experiences, your knowledge. Surely a dangerous psychopath like yourself has spent a considerable amount of time around bombs?"

Vyro licked the blood from his teeth and spit it onto the ground. How had this old man bested him? It was unthinkable, such a weak and feeble man had got the jump on the great Vyro! He studied the man's face, memorizing the details, cataloguing every crease and turn of the landscape of Grayson's face.

"Yeah, I know a thing or two about bombs. Why? Need me to smoke out a cheating whore? Barbeque a disgruntled business partner? You could have just asked, man. No need for this whole Rocket get up."

"Perhaps."

Vyro rocked in his chair. "I'd be glad to help, for the right price of course."

"Do you know what 'pro bono' means?"

"No, man, do I look like the kind of guy who paid attention in school?"

Grayson cracked a smile, a wicked grin, underneath his moustache. "In Old Kalosian, it means 'done so that I don't snap each individual rib into your chest one by one.'"

"I don't think that's what that means," Vyro muttered. "You know, you keep calling me crazy and a psychopath, but I think you might need to get your anger checked out."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Grayson chuckled and punched Vyro's stomach again. "I would seem in this case that it takes one to know one."

"What do you even want, man?"

"I need to know if you possess the wherewithal to press a button at the precise time I instruct you."

"Seems easy enough." He tested the bonds that trapped his hands. "Where?"

"Celadon City."

"So business partner. Got it. Which building?"

Grayson put a worn hand on Vyro's shoulder. "All of them."

Vyro's eyes widened in a mixture of terror and glee. This man was as fucked up as he was. It had been a long time since he had ever had a chance to talk shop with a fellow madman. "Ok, so all the buildings. I'll nix that business partner idea. It'll take time to assemble all those bombs."

"It's already been taken care of. Like I said, all you need to do is press a button precisely when I tell you too."

"Sounds easy enough. What's the catch?"

Grayson laughed. "The catch? You're the catch. The fall guy, the prize, as it were."

This took Vyro aback. "Hey, I'm not bait."

"Oh, but you are. You're just a worm that I dug from the ground and placed on the line of mine. That's all you are."

"No deal."

"You aren't in a position to be striking a deal here, madman," Grayson said. "There is no deal, there never was or will be. You will do this because I told you to; you will do this because you have no other choice. You will do this, because if you do not, I will find you, and you will wish you had. Do we understand each other? Am I making myself clear enough for that limited brain of yours?"

"Crystal."

"Excellent. I will deliver you to the vantage point. There you will find a hardwired device and a small parcel. When I contact you, you will press the button of the device and open the parcel. From there you will go to Vermillion. I have ensured that all who survive will make the journey to Vermillion. Under the cover of night, you will wait for my signal and then press the button on what you find on the device."

"You got this all figured out. I like it."

"I had figured a man like you would come around to my way of thinking eventually."

"Yeah, this is good. Soon everyone will know of the great and powerful Vyro who single handedly destroyed an entire city!"

Storm clouds seemed to form over Grayson's head. "No, absolutely not. No one must know you were involved. You would be too easy to apprehend, and you, no doubt, would inevitably crack under any sort of half-hearted interrogation. No, you will remain absolutely silent about your involvement, and will follow my instructions to the letter."

Vyro couldn't wrap his head around this; how could a man perpetuate such total destruction and simply not want to shout his name triumphantly to the fools he had crushed? It all seemed so wasted. Underhandedly sabotaging an entire city was quite a feat—a feat that the man should be proud of! It was sickening.

"So why are you doing this?" Vyro asked as Grayson began packing his things. He noticed, with a bit of fear, that Grayson did not look to be moving to undo the restraints. Vyro gave a last tug, a futile gesture.

"Why? I didn't think someone as crass and shortsighted as you would be interested in the 'why' of what one does. I had thought one which subtlety is completely foreign to would not trouble his mind with the likes of 'why.'"

"I mean, I know why I would do it."

"Mass bloodshed and death is not a reason unto itself, madman." Grayson slipped his coat on. "And as long as you see it as the end and not the means, you will always be a tool, a particularly blunt one, but a tool nonetheless to men with ambition."

"I didn't come here for a lecture, old man."

"No, of course you didn't."

"So is this the part where you're going to tell me that you're doing this for the greater good? Because that schtick's pretty old, don't you think?"

"I do not pretend that my actions are somehow noble, only that they are justified."

"Justified. Always seemed pretty one-sided, if you ask me."

"Then it is good that I did not. Your opinions hardly matter to me. All I care about is that you do what I tell you, when I tell you. Beyond that, I think we may yet be rid of each other."

"You gonna untie me, or am I supposed to make it to Celadon strapped to the chair?"

Grayson rolled his eyes. He stepped behind the chair and cut the bindings. Vyro massaged his wrists.

"I've taken the liberty to heal your pokemon for you after that horrendous display against Master Kai. In the future, if you do intend to pursue a life of crime, I recommend brushing up on your battling skills. I believe the Trainer School in Viridian is open for enrollment."

"Yeah, yeah, I bet I could whip your old end up and down cycling road in a straight fight."

Grayson smiled. "Men such as us rarely fight straight fights. And in the event that we did come to blows, you would be severely out classed."

"Whatever. Do you have anything to clean my face with? This blood doesn't go well with your whole 'in the shadows' deal."

Grayson mindless fished a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Vryo who wiped his face. Something caught his eye on the cloth; it was monogrammed in the logo of a prominent company.

R. I. G., Silph Company.


	25. Part 17: Tin Tower

17

[10:59 AM. Tin Tower Gardens. Tin Tower. Ecruteak City. Three days later.]

Morty rested on his shovel and took a deep breath of the cool mountain air that came down of Mt. Mortar.

The aging master wiped sweat from his brow. The sun climbed inexorably towards its zenith. He rested in the shade of the looming tower. The garden was in bloom. He took pride in his garden, the various flowers and bushes painted the garden in a tapestry of bright and garish colors. He took a sip from a crying glass of water next to the fence.

He coaxed his body to sit up against the tower and rest, nursing his water. Where was Alphonso? He said he'd meet him here this morning. His son-in-law was a bit fleeting with time, but he was not a truant.

He looked up at the sky, as he did every day. All his life he had spent in Ecruteak he had searched for the rainbow bird of legend that was said to call Tin Tower home. Tin Tower had always enraptured him, even from a young age, as it did to many of Johto's youth. Though he could see glimpses of the future, he had never seen the legendary bird.

"Oh, maybe tomorrow," he said wistfully.

He forced himself to stand and continued his work. From the garden, he could see the small city of Ecruteak come to life in the morning sun. The quiet city had been his pride and joy since he had inherited the gym from his father over fifty years ago. He had made it his personal mission to meet every resident, become friends with them. In his youth, he had ignored the people of his city to pursue his studies of legendary pokemon with his friend Eusine. Since Eusine's departure from Johto, he had warmed up to the responsibilities of his gym and to his people. Now, he could proudly say that everyone in this sleepy town knew him, and he knew them. He even made a point to introduce himself to the travelers who came to visit the tower.

He smiled as he watched the people go about their lives. From his spot, he could see a man walk from the pokemon center. He squinted in the sun and saw the outline of his son-in-law walking toward him. Alphonso waved as he approached; Morty returned the gesture.

"I see you're still slaving away at your garden."

Morty's old face stretched into a smile as he trimmed a bush. "Hello, Al. I'm glad you came."

"You know the sage's will take care of this, right?"

"I prefer not to trouble them with such trivial matters."

"You're still the Gym Leader, correct?"

"Last time I checked, I was."

Al picked up the shovel and began digging out an old stump. "So you should probably be training. Can't let your skill slip."

"I believe I will be more than enough for a challenge for anyone who intends to face me."

"Pokemon's a young man's game, Mortimer."

"How many times, Al? Call me Dad, or Morty, if you would prefer."

"Claudia sends her regards."

Morty's face lit up. "How is she doing?"

"As well as can be expected, with that whole mess in Celadon."

"What have you heard about that? Not much has come to this sleepy town."

"I haven't heard much; Claudia and I haven't had much of a chance to catch up since the attack."

"You say pokemon's a young man's game. Whatever happened in Celadon City is a young man's affair."

Al tossed the stump over the garden fence. He was a tall man, wide, and built like a wall. He wore a plain suit and a loose tie. He sweat in the sun as it peeked over the tower. "Whatever it is, it's not good for us."

"Who do you mean by 'us?'"

"Us, the people. You know, the little people."

Morty chuckled. "There is nothing about you, Al, that is little."

"I'd like to take you to lunch."

Morty put down the shears and raised an eyebrow. "So that's why you took this little jaunt out to my little town.

The man shrugged. "Claudia said we should get closer."

"That doesn't sound like Claudia at all,"

"I don't pretend to understand her, as you should know."

"Too true, too true. So what did you have in mind for our little excursion. There's not much in the way of eating here."

"I'm sure we can find a place. I doubt you'll feel up to trekking to Goldenrod for some real food."

"Then you know me better than I expected. Go on ahead, you know that noodle shop near the mart? I'll just have what you're having. I'll meet you there in a moment. I need to finish up some things here."

"Have it you way, Dad."

He turned and left towards the city. Morty rested again. He turned his eyes towards the sky one last time for the day. He shook his head and began to walk away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something brilliant glimmer in the sky. He could feel his old heart stop; he turned around and saw the resplendent silhouette of a large bird streak towards the top of the tower.

"Ho…Oh…"

He dropped to his weak knees. The tears that formed were a mix of pain and overwhelming happiness. He raised his arms to the sky and cheered. Finally, after a lifetime of searching and waiting, he had seen the legendary bird. It was almost too much to handle; he could feel his heart beat in his chest. He hadn't felt this young in years.

The bird softly glided towards the peak. He cried the tears of a man vindicated.

Suddenly the bird stopped and veered away towards the horizon. Morty's eyes widened and he reached out in vain, gripping the image in his worn hands.

Morty slumped against the ground. With his ear to the dirt, he could hear a faint rumbling coming from the direction of the tower.

Suddenly a wave of energy threw him into the fence. His body wracked with pain, her cried out. He could hardly see through the stars that crashed through his vision. As the spinning in his head subsided he could hear the sounds of panic around him. His nostrils were filled with acrid smoke and he wheezed violently. Thick plumes of black ash poured from a gaping wound in the side of the tower. Fire licked at the old wood of the tower.

A millennium ago, Brass Tower burned to the ground, and now her mate would join her.


	26. Part 18: A Stopped Clock

18

[3:32 AM. Cianwood City Hospital. Cianwood City. Earlier that morning.]

Octavius rolled over in his sleep.

When the nurses found him sprawled out on the beach, they had panicked, thinking the old man dead. But he would not die. For three days he had pleaded to be let out, to return to his position, but they would have none of it. "I'm the Champion of the Pokemon League!" he would say. Even after he had convinced them, they still kept their vigil.

But now he saw their wisdom. Sporadically throughout the day he would feel his chest tighten, usually after he was allowed to stand and walk around. "It's your heart, sir," the doctors told him. "Do you have any preexisting condition we should know about?"

Octavius never thought that that would be the thing to take him down. His entire life he had known about it, like a shadow following him, but he never acknowledged it. He kept it to himself, telling no one, not even Santiago.

Santiago.

Santiago had been the one to carry him into the hospital. He felt the pain of the cloaked man's assault just as clearly as he had seen the impotence on his friend's face. He had told him it was a trap. Santiago stayed with him, for a while, until he said he had to return to Indigo Plateau. Octavius understood. He was simply doing all that he had ever asked of him. He was proud. The young boy he had met those long years ago in Pewter City was now a man.

"Perhaps it's time to pass the torch on. He'd make a great Champion," he said to the whirring and beeping of the machines that softly illuminated his room. "I'm getting too old for this."

_Now you know how I felt, a lifetime ago._

Octavius sat up slowly in bed. "Master Sobi."

The faint image of a kindly old woman adorned in plain red hemmed white robes fluttered into view. Translucent, she sat softly next to him on the bed.

_Getting old is never as easy as you thought it would be._

"You made it look so easy."

She smiled. _Easy? No. Growing old is the hardest thing anyone will ever do. The best we can do is make it look graceful. What is time but the penultimate companion and the ultimate partner?_

"Time…" He looked to the pocket watch that rested on his bed side table, cracked and burnt. "We never have enough of it."

_We have just as much time as we need._

He gave a half cough, half chuckle. "I would have liked more time with you, old friend."

_The feeling is mutual. When I met you, all starry eyed and brazen, I thought I saw a bit of myself in you. It was like pulling back the curtain of my own past. Surely your boy inspires just as much sentiment in you?_

"I'd like to think I wasn't always that serious."

_But that's what drew me to you. In you, I could see a determination wrought from the highest mountain. In you, I could see a heart unconquerable._

"Funny that you mention that."

_When our healers identified the arrhythmia in your heart, I always imagined you would somehow overcome it; that it would be your greatest stepping stone. When you were told, that is when your fascination with time began._

"Some might call it a death wish."

_And others would call it a life wish._

"That doesn't make sense."

_Fascination with death is the greatest celebration of life. You of all people, chronicler, know the value of a single life._

"There's not much more I think this old boulder can do, I'm afraid."

_Except become that old boulder._

"Excuse me."

_In time immemorial, the eighteen sages of Pokemon perfected their powers over thousands of years of bonding with their companions. Through years of training and trust, they became embodiments of their respective elements._

"I've heard this bedtime story before, Master."

_Then perhaps you might understand that it is more than a bedtime story. We sages are the unbroken line of trainers stretching back to the dawn of time. Your line is the broken link. The world became too connected, too modern for the legacy of the Sages. We cut our ties to the world. When you pass, your apprentice will be the last of the Sages' legacy. _

"A nostalgic thought. And a shame you never condoned my research into the subject."

_We are a closed people._

"Perhaps it was for the best. No telling how you and the others would react to all this."

_The world needs your vision, Octavius._

"I don't think there's much more for me to see, Master."

_Then you will wait until your eyes are fit to see and your heart is fit to beat._

"I'm listening."

_You must achieve perfection—Rock Perfection. _

"How do you propose I do what no trainer has done since the time of stories?"

_That is up to you, my friend._

The specter of his old master began to fade. Instantly, he felt the onset of a fever strike him as the apparition dissipated.

"Master!"

The pain returned to his chest and he gripped uselessly at his hospital gown. He doubled over and struggled to touch the ghostly woman.

_I always preferred it when you called it me Sobi._

He gave one last futile lunge and the woman disappeared. He faught back screams as the pain washed over him; it beat like a discordant drum—each strained pump of his heart sent erratic jolts of agony throughout his body, from his center to his extremities. He gave in and cried out, but it was much too late; everyone was asleep and his whimpers for help were much too weak.

He crashed back into his bed, damp with his sweat. Each breath was a titanic labor; each breath was a monumental hurdle. Time seemed to stand still. He tried to keep calm, utilizing the breathing strategies Master Sobi had taught him, but no amount of inner calm could soothe the pain. He could not steady his breath while each breath sent daggers of pain throughout his body.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered.

As he slipped away, he remembered the lesson Master Sobi had always beat into him:

[6:12 PM. ?. ?. Decades ago.]

Octavius slammed back into the stone wall behind him. His Shieldon looked back at its master.

"You're slipping up," Sobi said. "The length of our exercise should not affect how you perform."

The young Octavius struggled to stand. His body was covered in a wide assortment of purble bruises and scrapes. He stared defiantly at his master who stood next to her Rhyperior with a stern, maternal look in her eyes.

"Again. Get up. We're doing it again."

"I'm getting up."

"No, you're losing. Get up like you mean to win. Don't get up like you mean to walk away."

"I don't see what you're trying to do here. It just looks like you're using me a punching bag. I'm tired of it."

"Hardship breeds bonds between trainer and pokemon. If you cannot understand this, you are welcome to leave."

"Jeez, I'm not gonna leave. You sound like Master Rago when you talk like this. I hate Master Rago."

Sobi smiled. "If that hot-head can wrap his mind the concepts I am trying fruitlessly to impart on you, young Avi, then surely you can learn."

"Don't call me that." A fire kindled in his eyes.

"Don't what? Call you Avi? Do you not like that? Does it make you angry, Avi?"

Octavius clenched his fists. He wiped the dust from his robes and his Shieldon moved towards him. "I said, don't call me that."

"I will call you whatever I please, Avi. There's little someone so easily moved as you could do to me."

"Stop treating me like a kid."

"Then stop acting like one!"

The boy charged with his Shieldon in tow. He moved to strike the woman and his Shieldon struck the Rhyperior. Master Sobi effortlessly caught the punch with a lazy hand, and the Shieldon bounced uselessly of the stone wall of a pokemon.

"Have you learned nothing from me? An all out attack is effortlessly deflected by even the paltriest defense." She struck him in the stomach and he went flying. Octavius would not be defeated. He stood once more and panted through the pain in his gut.

"How can I beat you if I can't hit you?"

"Precisely. You must be a stone in a river, oblivious and unflinching to the current. I am the stone and you are no river. I will withstand you until the end of days."

"Then I won't move."

"Oh?"

"If you will not be moved, then I will not move."

She smiled. "You're learning."

[3:51 AM. Cianwood City Hospital. Cianwood City. Decades later.]

Octavius clutched at his bed sheets.

"…then I will not move."

He willed himself to freeze. He let the pain crash over him like a river.

"I am the rock, you are the river."

He let his body go limp, embracing the pain. He was stronger than the pain. He was the master. Through his agony, he allowed himself to focus. Channeling all his resolve, he forced himself to remain motionless.

Like a stone in the river.

He felt his body begin to calcify. It was an unnerving sensation at first, but he ignored it. He crossed his hands over his chest as if to hold in the pain. His calcification continued. Where there was once a searing sensation, there was now a cool pressure. He felt the calcification begin to creep up his body, from his toes to his neck. With each new stone that grew over his body, he felt the clinching in his chest subside. A smile cracked his old face before the stones ensconced his body. He had done.

He had achieved Rock Perfection.

In the morning, when the first nurse would come in to wake him up and take him to breakfast, all there would be to find would be a large stone where Octavius rested.


	27. Part 18-2: Mt Silver

18.5

[8:22 PM. Foothills of Mt. Silver. Mt. Silver. The same day.]

Ian found her staring at the mountain.

He had followed her since the end of the meeting; she had gone straight to the hospital. Her Nidoking had not made it.

She stood so that she cut the chilly mountain wind, her jacket and scarf fluttering in the wind. Ian took a step forward.

"I've spent so much time here, yet I've never gone to the top."

"Do you think he's really up there?"

"Werner went up, once, I think. Never said anything about it. I'd like to think he's up there."

Ian stretched. "I'd get bored after a couple years."

"Must get lonely up there, I bet."

"He's got his pokemon. I'm sure he wouldn't be too lonely. He must be at least part pokemon by now."

Moira gave a small laugh. "The world's really falling to pieces, isn't it?"

"Looks like it."

First Celadon, then Tin tower—nowhere was safe. Ian shuddered at the thought. He had only been to Ecruteak once when he was very little. His father had taken him. "Everyone should visit this place once in their life," he had said. Now that was impossible. The fallout would be tremendous, Ian imagined. If Johto wasn't already inflamed about the allegations, they would not take this lying down.

"Thing's aren't gonna be the same, huh?"

Ian shook his head.

"Werner always talked about this happening one day. How we're too different to live in peace. I always thought he was being dramatic, but I guess it's his job to think about stuff like that."

"It's not the end of the world."

"It might as well be."

A flock of Fearow left a fir tree in unison, flying away into the night sky. "I heard about your Nidoking."

"At least that Bastard got what was coming to him."

Ian raised an eyebrow. "He died. Werner told me."

"Well, we won, so that's got to count for something."

She turned to Ian with something between a half-smile and a pout. "Did we?"

"We should head back."

She began to wander aimlessly towards the mountain. Each footstep seemed light, yet infinitely slow. "What is it about this place that draws trainers?"

Ian gazed up at the mountain, craning his neck. Tucked away in the dark clouds of the cool evening, the summit seemed a lifetime away. Ian imagined all the nameless trainers who stood where he stood and scaled the mountain. What did drive them? What called all manner of people and pokemon to this spot? He could feel a certain power in the wind. This place was ancient. This place was old.

"Because it's there."

Moira laughed. "Because it's there."

Ian move to put his hand on her shoulder but she turned and took it into her own. He felt the warmth of her palms and for a moment tried to pull back but she held on tight. He felt his cheeks flush.

"Moira?"

"Are you coming or not?"

She let go of his hand and began the slow walk towards the summit.


	28. Part 19: Ivory Tower

19

[11:45 AM. Saffron City. Silph Co. Head Quarters boardroom. 30th floor. The next day.]

Dorian Silph toyed with the Masterball that sat on his desk. He spun it on its axis and watched it quietly pirouette. A lifetime of work to produce a handful of prototypes.

Junior had left for Hoenn last night after entertaining his father at dinner last night. Dorian seldom got a chance to leave the office of his own volition; Grayson would often try and persuade him to go on a romp, but after his legs failed him, he found himself more and more cemented in his office.

Grayson was late, quite unlike him. Dorian could only assume that the man knew what he was doing. It wasn't late enough to put out the burn on him. He had faith in his friend.

He had an appointment today, and a rather important one. That one was also late. For this man, Dorian could scarcely make an excuse. He had met the man once or twice, at various high-brow events—enough to formulate an opinion. Dorian found him lacking. The man had a certain charm, but nothing about him screamed competence.

It had not been the man who had saved him a tick over fifty years ago, it had been another. Dorian never saw the other boy again. He had disappeared.

Blue let himself in without a knock.

"I see your title has drawn out the more arrogant quirks in your personality, Oak."

Blue pulled up a chair at the far end of the table. He was dressed too casually for Dorian's taste—an unappealing mix between professor and Gym Leader. He was not impressed.

"Mr. President, my apologies."

"Save it; the damage is already done."

Blue crossed his arms and tried to sum up the old man. Dorian could see him scanning him. He was confident in his ability to conceal anything from the man.

"I met with your predecessor in this very boardroom before you were born. Do not think your status somehow gives you an edge in our talks."

Blue shrugged. "You seem like you've got things under control here."

"I do, Champion. I do. And I pride myself on that fact. I take pride in the stability of this company, this city, and this region. What can you do for me in that regard?"

Blue sat up and stared at the man. "That depends, Mr. President, on what you can do for me, in that regard."

He had gall, Dorian had to admit. Not even Grayson was as bold as this man. "A rather presumptuous question, wouldn't you agree?"

"Not at all, Mr. President. In a time like this we cannot afford to be so exclusive. Now more than ever we need to foster the bonds between regions."

Silph guffawed. "Friendship will not avail you, Champion, when the people of Johto come clamoring for a scapegoat. It is my opinion that you do not grasp the severity of this situation. You would do well to ally yourself with me. I could make for a formidable opponent."

"Are you threatening me, Mr. President?"

"No, not at all. I'm simply offering my considerable resources to you should I find you fit to receive them."

"I don't know what kind of deal you struck with Octavius, but I will not play the puppet." Blue sat defiant; his posture gave up nothing. Despite his criminally rude demeanor, Silph began to grow on the man. He did not like him, to be sure, but he was not the aloof professor from the charity balls anymore."

"You still speak like a young man, Oak. Some might call that a blessing, others, well, they can see it for what it is—fear. I have no need for a puppet. A man like you should understand this. What I do have a need for—and it is a burning need—is a man I can trust. Can I trust you?"

"Trust me to do what?"

Silph spun the Masterball again. "To do what is necessary for your home."

"Indigo Plateau is my home now. I have to think about what is best for the regions as a whole."

"They'll crucify you, Oak. They'll grab hold of you and never let you go. Some big shot kid from a tiny town worms his way up to the highest position in the land—I can see it now. You have no idea how this all will play out, do you? You think the hundreds of thousands dead in the still smoking rubble of Celadon will simply go away? Do you really believe that the loss of Tin Tower, one of Johto's most prized landmarks will simply go unanswered? Chaos on this scale could never have been imagined when you were growing up. I remember you; I remember how you acted. You came into my building, into my home, not to help, but to simply get the jump on your friend."

Blue stood up. "I can see that I'm wasting my time with you, Mr. President. Thank you for the meeting, but I have pressing issues that need attending too; I'm sure you understand."

He excused himself and made his way to the door.

"It should be Red sitting across from me, not you."

Blue released the doorknob, and then clenched it again. There he was again, that name. No matter what he did, he would never escape it, could never escape him.

"Red would see my wisdom. You know that. Stop this contrarian act."

"Red's not here. Red's gone," Blue said, more to himself, as an affirmation, than to Silph. He turned. The old man, bound to chair, sat content, his hands folded over the blanket on his lap.

"You're in over your head, Champion. Thrust into a position when that dream died decades ago. You need me. If you walk out that door, you're not only turning your back on me, on Kanto, but on yourself. What would Red do, Blue?"

"Red wouldn't listen to you. I don't know what you intend to do, what events you plan on occurring, how you plan to go about them, but I know in my heart that Red would have never even come to this meeting. Red would never have had this happen."

"Then you are a fool as well as an idealist."

"You didn't know him."

"And you think that you did? All you knew of him was conflict. I don't pretend to know the disappearing man, but I know that he would have made the right decision."

"He was my friend."

"He was an obstacle, nothing more. Anything else you pretend to hold onto in that heart of hearts of yours is mere conjecture. You think you know him, but you cannot know someone so impossibly far ahead of you."

"Did you bring me here just to berate me? Just to throw these nonsensical proclamations at me from on high? I don't know how much of the world you can see from your ivory tower, but the world is changing, and there is no place for a man like you in it."

Dorian laughed, a clean laugh, like he had suffocated all the wheezing and coughing just to laugh this once. "I can see all from this tower. And I see a coward in front of me, too paralyzed with fear and indecision to do what is necessary to preserve the very system that gave him his power."

Blue opened the door. He did not dare look back at the man. "If ever word enters my ear that you had a single finger in these disasters, then I will personally arrange for your execution."

"Now it is you who are threatening me, Champion. Tread carefully. You may find in the future that your salvation and the preservation of this great land lies beyond this burnt bridge. I will do all in my power to hold this together. What you do is up to you, but I am the face of Kanto, not you. My word is the word of the people, and these people cry for action."

Blue stepped across the threshold, taking his coat from the secretary and disappeared. Silph kept the ball spinning until he descended into a ghoulish bout of pained and viscous wretching.


	29. Part 20: The Johto Declaration

20

[3:30 PM. Outside the Blackthorn City Ranger Academy. Blackthorn City. The same day.]

Rena hesitated as she walked up to the podium.

She could see an ocean of cameras and reporters trained on her. Even as the Johto representative to the Indigo Plateau, she had never done well on camera. They made her nervous, knowing that everything she ever said, did, or showed, would be recorded for posterity, for all time.

She took her position at the podium. She felt seat bead on her forehead and slide down her neck. She was dressed very conservatively, yet felt entirely exposed and naked. She squinted in the light of the cameras.

"To begin, Johto would like to reiterate that she had nothing to do with the heinous attacks on Kanto and Celadon City."

She swallowed. This was all standard song and dance—par for the course. The press had heard this all before. Rena had spent countless nights since the Celadon Incident listening to various experts and specialists and rangers telling her what she prayed to be true. There was no conclusive evidence that implicated Johto in the massacre. Four terrorists had stormed Indigo Plateau, claiming to be acting under the auspices of Johto. All that could be proven is that they believed or were merely saying that Johto was responsible.

"However, as you may know, not every is convinced that this is true. Not everyone believes that Johto did not have a direct or indirect hand in slaughter. We cannot stress enough that we had nothing to do with that."

The press were getting antsy. This is not what they were called to Blackthorn for. In her dealings with the press, she knew that there was nothing more vicious than hungry reporters. She would have to give them what they came for.

Her advisors nodded at her.

"Even though we stress that fact and have publicly ousted the terrorists, complying with the Indigo Plateau at every request and investigation, it would seem that there are those who would choose to believe otherwise. And there are those would choose to act rashly. There are those that would take interregional affairs into their own hands."

The press began to talk and scribble furiously. Rena had only been told all this recently. It sent a wave of terrible nausea straight into her stomach. She had almost been unable to come out today because she became so ill. Her advisors pumped her full of medicine and sent her on her way. She could never have imagined things would turn out like this. It had all started so simply; an open and shut case of major vandalism and an attack on a research facility.

What information did Werner's folder hold? He seemed so confident in his accusations.

"Recently, Johto suffered an attack, not as gruesome, but just as tragic. Yesterday, Tin Tower, the legendary landmark of Johto that has stood watch over Ecruteak for a millennium, was destroyed. The fires still burn, though the keepers and Leader Morty regretfully confirmed that the projected structural damage is too great. In short, Tin Tower is lost. In this time of great uncertainty, we as a people must band together. A great people have been moved to defend a great region. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our most dear landmarks, but they cannot touch the foundation of Johto. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of Johtoan resolve. Johto was targeted for attack because of some erroneous and unbased charges of a madman. Today, our region saw evil—the very worst of human nature—and we will respond with the best of Johto."

Someone in the crowd began to clap. Rena cleared her throat. "We have apprehended the suspect in the destruction of Tin Tower."

More murmurs from the press.

Two Rangers led a man bound in chains up to the podium. He was a large man, in a dirty suit. "This man, Alphonoso, was apprehended fleeing Ecruteak as the tower burned. Alphonso is the husband of Claudia, one of the members of the Elite Four of the Pokemon League. On his person, we discovered several documents and communiqué that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man was responsible for this terrorist act. Furthermore, these documents implicate Kanto and the Elite Four of Indigo Plateau as having orchestrated and carried out this attack."

The press began a mad scramble. Worked up into frenzy, they began shouting and snapping pictures like a mob. Rena did her best to stand firm. She did not acknowledge a single reporter. She simply needed to make it to the end of her speech and then step down. The press grabbed photos of Alphonso, and he gave only exasperated grunts in response before the Rangers carted him away.

"With all that being said, I speak for all of Johto when I hereby declare that as of this announcement, Johto is henceforth and forever more, a sovereign region. We will be withdrawing our presence from the Indigo Plateau as we conduct our own investigation into the exact extent of their involvement. All dealings with Kanto are hereby dissolved and travel between the two regions will be restricted. Kanto business holdings in Johto or her waters will be seized by the regional government, located here in Blackthorn City. Our branch of the Rangers is hereby severed from the Kanto Branch, however, amnesty will be granted to all Rangers who wish to return to Kanto, for they have done no wrong, and have served both regions admirably. We request that Kanto reciprocate this action, so that Johto may have her people at home where she needs them most."

The press exploded. Rena allowed herself to exhale as she bathed in the light of the camera flashes. Several attendants moved to escort her from the podium.

_This is it, huh? No going back. Never thought I'd be the one to drop the hammer._

She was led into a phalanx of aides who took her from the swarm to the Ranger Center.

_Oh, Rena what have you done?_

She would have to report to the Dragon Tamers now, and that was a prospect she dreaded.

As the events unfolded on television, across the continent, an old man in a wheelchair turned off the television, crossed his hands over his lap and smiled like a child.


	30. Part 20-2: Three Days Later

20.5

[8:23 PM. Saffron City Streets. Saffron City. Three days later.]

The man trudged through the rain.

The city was uncharacteristically quiet as he walked through the streets. Trucks passed by at regular intervals. Each step he took echoed with a damp sound. The hum of the rain against the pavement, the dull yellow glow around the streetlights, the sound of a Houndour howling at the sky—all of these sensations propelled the man forward. He adjusted his coat with his good hand, bracing himself against the cool rain. He had been walking for days, not stopping to eat or speak to another soul. Something primordial drove his quest and set his feet to inexorable motion. Sleep was rare; he could not move while he slept.

A large black bird perched on one of the streetlights. It ruffled its chest and gave a low caw through the rain.

News had reached the man's ears in fragments. Johto, Kanto—there had been a rift. A man called Blue Oak was the new champion. Tin Tower was gone. These images crept into his mind in a disjointed tapestry of events

The man came upon an officer of the law, the first person he had seen since entering the city. "Hold up, friend," The officer said. "Don't you know about the curfew?"

The man kept walking, ignoring the officer. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

He did not respond, but simply kept up his walking. "Sir, I asked you to stop. Now I know you probably want to get out of this rain, but rules are rules."

To the man, there was nothing to acknowledge. The officer ran up in front of him and held up a hand. "Now I don't want to have to take you in, so I'm gonna ask you one more time before I start telling you; I'm gonna escort you to the station. Can't have folks walking around in this weather after curfew."

The man stopped and adjusted his jacket once more. "I need to get back."

"Well, why didn't you just say so? Tell me where it is you're going and I'll get you back there fast as I can."

"Silph…Co…" His words seemed far away, strained and distant.

"Silph Co, huh? You work there? They're closed right now, you know that, right?" You got an apartment somewhere nearby?"

"Silph…" The man began to walk again. The officer put a hand on the man's arm.

"I think you need to come with me." The man pulled a pokeball from his belt and released his Growlithe into the rain. The fire dog snarled at the man. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, mister."

The man shook his head, water dripping from the brim of his sopping hat. "Hard way."

The Growlithe leapt at the man; in mid air, a massive bird swooped down and caught the dog in its talons and carried it up into the night. The officer gasped and reached for his nightstick. He ran at the man but never connected. The man had jammed a thin blade in between the officer's ribs. He pulled the blade out and the officer fell to the wet pavement, clutching his bleeding wound. The bird circled overhead before releasing the dog from a height of several stories. The Growlithe hit the pavement like a wet pillow. It gave a high and pained cry before it died.

The man kept walking, never looking back.


	31. Part 21: Underground

21

[1:22 PM. Underground Café. Goldenrod City Underground. Johto Independence Day.]

"You're taking an awful risk coming here, Claudia."

The man sat coldly next to her, picking at his lunch. Claudia sipped pensively at her coffee. Around her, the shady underbelly of Goldenrod was abuzz with movement and life. She had never seen them so compelled to action before.

"What the hell is going on now?" he asked.

"I don't know. Nobody knows."

The man's voice was hushed. "What did you guys do?"

Normally cryptic and reserved, a more human side of Claudia emerged when she was with friends. "Nothing, to my knowledge."

The man shook his head. "This is a big goddamn deal, you realize that right? If anyone were to recognize you…"

"I'll take my chances, Aiden. I came here for information, not to start a riot."

"Well you might be too late. Have you seen the Magnet Rail station? Hundreds of people stranded on the wrong side of the continent. There's gonna be trouble, mark my words. You know, when you asked me to meet you, you weren't a wanted criminal."

"I'm only a wanted criminal in an illegitimate state. Johto cannot decide this themselves without at least convening with the League."

Aiden took a large sip from his soup. "Well, they did. What's your league gonna do about it?"

She traced the rim of her cup with a thin, perfectly manicured finger. "I'm not sure; I haven't had a chance to get in contact with them."

"I saw on TV that the League is making an official response later today."

"That can't be good."

Aiden finished his soup and kept looking over his shoulder; clearly, he felt out of place down here, but Claudia seemed just fine. "You'll only draw attention to yourself if you keep up like that."

"I'm the one who should be drawing attention to myself?"

She gave a wicked smile. "I can handle these people."

"Are you saying I can't?"

She sipped at her coffee. "Perhaps." She giggled, letting the warm aroma waft up. She savored the dark smell. "So, heard anything about the terrorists?"

"Claudia, I'm a breeder, not a broker. I just here what people say around the Day-Care. Look I know you asked me because I'm your friend, but I don't know anything, and I don't want to get involved, okay?"

"I understand. Just…keep an ear to the ground, you know?"

Aiden continued to look over his shoulder.

"Expecting someone?" she asked.

"It never hurts to be careful." The look on his face was one of anticipation. He radiated suspense. "I found a guy who might be able to help. He's a local. Hangs around the Day-Care all the time, when he isn't slumming it up down here. I called him up after you got in contact with me and told him to meet us here.

"I'm impressed. When is he meeting us?"

He gave yet another look over his shoulder. "Soon."

She gave herself a moment to focus. She knew she had to get to Ecruteak and talk with her father. Was he okay? Would he believe her? Did he blame her? There was no way to be sure. She shuddered; someone was approaching.

"I heard you were looking for information."

She slowly turned. The man behind here was young, arrogant. His hair unkempt, he looked like a man thrust into adulthood. He wore a long coat that dragged on the ground—second hand, Claudia assumed, or not his. Claudia turned towards Aiden.

"This is your guy?"

Aiden shrugged.

The man took a seat next to her. He reeked of alcohol. "Hey, Aiden here knows what he's doing. He did the right thing by calling me; I think I can help you."

She pushed her coffee away and placed a bill on the counter to cover the tab. "I doubt that very seriously.

The man laughed. "You're Claudia, right? That psycho's husband?"

"Hey now—" Aiden interjected.

She shot him a look—best not to make a scene here. "We're separated."

"No judgment here. My girl gives me trouble too sometimes, as I'm sure you can understand. Listen. We can help each other. I can get you your terrorists."

"There's nothing to 'get;' all of them are accounted for." Her voice was ice.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?"

"What are you implying?"

He smiled. "Listen: you don't trust me; I get that. You shouldn't. You picked the wrong time to vacation. I can help you get what you need so you can get on back home to Indigo Plateau. The name's Finder." He extended a hand. Tentatively, she gave it a light shake, as polite as she could muster.

"That's not your real name, is it?" she asked.

"Rule number one of the underground: never use your real name, especially when yours is hot."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He scanned the area. There were the inklings of a crowd forming, stewing and coagulating. "We should think about moving this party elsewhere. You're not as plain as you might think."

She agreed; the crowd began giving the tow of them sharp glares. They pointed and talked among themselves. Aiden looked positively shell-shocked. "That's the best thing you've said this whole time."

Finder palmed the table and got up; Claudia and Aiden followed. As they attempted to leave, a large man blocked their way. He towered over the three of them.

"Where do you think you're going, Finder?" the man asked. His voice was a clunk baritone, like that of a ships foghorn.

"We're leaving, Fist."

Fist cracked his knuckles. "Uh, uh. You still owe me. What did I say about owing me?"

"This isn't the time, Fist. I'll get your money. You know I'm good for it."

Claudia pulled Finder back. "These people are looking for you?"

He shrugged. "I was hoping that they were looking for you."

Fist was getting impatient. "Cut it out with that girl of yours. What, you and your lady break up?"

Finder exhaled; exasperation was setting in. "She's not my girl, Fist, she's a client."

"Well maybe Miss Pretty in Black over there can cover your debts. I mean, that's my money, ain't it?"

"I'm doing this one pro bono. You'll get your money."

Aiden was silently panicking. "Can we just get out of here?" he whispered.

"You know, come to think of it, I don't really want your money. I'd much prefer some of your teeth for my collection."

Finder cracked a bit. "Let's not get too hasty, friend. I'm sure we can work this out like gentlemen."

Fist threw a wicked punch at Finder which caught him in the jaw. He sailed back into the restaurant and crashed into the counter. The cooks from the back came out shouting and swearing. Claudia could see Finder try to stand, but the punch had been so firm, he dizzily fell to the floor. Fist and his cronies erupted in laughter.

"You still go down like a girl, eh, Finder?"

His posse laughed. Finder spat blood onto the ground.

"How about you ditch this loser, lady, and come with a real man?"

Claudia closed her eyes. The entire aura of the room changed. Fist took a step back. His crowd began to look at each other then all focused on her.

"I suggested you boys go play somewhere else. Adults are talking."

Fist took one more step back before reaching for a pokeball at his belt. "Why I oughta…"

"What you ought to do is leave."

"Now I make it a special thing never to hit a lady, but I gotta make an exception." He tossed out a Graveller. It stretched its rocky arms and let out a low moan. "Graveller, let's teach this lady a lesson in manners."

The Graveller nodded and jumped at Claudia but bounced uselessly off an invisible wall. From behind her, a tiny Sableye giggle lasciviously. The Graveller kept up its assault; everything was deflected off. The Sableye continued to laugh. Claudia broke a smile.

"You bore me."

As she began to walk away, Finder ran from the restaurant, Kadabra at his side. "We're getting out of here!" He grabbed Claudia and Ian before she could react. There was a bright flash of light that staggered Fist. In a moment, they were gone.


	32. Part 22: Carrde

22

[9:00 PM. Mt. Silver Trail. Mt. Silver. The previous day.]

Mt. Silver was as much a living force as Ian or Moira. As the twilight turned to a deep night, you could feel the mountain breathe. It had a pulse—a heartbeat. What could a mountain of time immemorial have to think about? What did it softly whisper to its children in the wind? What did it see in the two trainers that slowly made their way up the foothill? Was it pleased?

Ian shivered in the wind.

Moira was several paces up ahead. She did not look back at Ian. Her footsteps were firmly turned towards the heavenly summit.

They had been walking in silence for some time—Moira set in her step and Ian following just behind. He allowed himself to enjoy the view; it truly was a beautiful place. Every nook and cranny seemed to hold untold life. As the night progressed he could see the Sneasel come out from their dens to hunt for food; the Dodrio tended to their Doduo; the Poliwags and Poliwhirls sang lachrymosa from the ponds. It was a feeling of calm and zen, like a particularly lucid dream. Volbeats and Illumise lit up the forests, and the Kricketune's serenaded each other.

This was a world untouched by the vagaries of man's affairs. Even having been raised in the largest city of Tohjo, Ian could feel the serenity and magnificence of the mountain. There was a reason that both Kanto and Johto respected and revered the mountain.

As they walked, Ian could feel the air get colder, the breeze, crisper. His breath clouded in effervescent clouds that raced to join the sky. On the world below, it was early autumn. The mountain, it would seem, thought differently. He tightened his coat. Moira showed no signs of stopping.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Ian asked, breaking their tacit agreement of silence.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm gonna climb this mountain. What are _you_ doing?"

He huffed. "Following you, of course. Someone's gotta be here to catch you."

Moira did not respond, but Ian could tell she disagreed with his reason.

"I mean why, Mo? Why are you doing this? We have to be in Vermillion soon. Werner said—"

She cut him off. "I know what he said. But it's like you said: it's there. So I am going to climb it. You're welcome to turn back. You don't look like you can handle the cold well anyway."

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" Moira simply kept walking.

A light layer of powdery snow coated the ground as the ascended. Their feet made not a sound as they walked. Snow drifted down without a care. In the distance, Ian could hear a man shouting. The ground beneath their feet began to rumble as the noise of a herd of pokemon came into view. Dozens of Phanphy broke from the forest and tumbled out into the trail. The man behind the herd was an older man, tall, with a long coat. The shadow of a beard traced his face. His eyes were like a bird's—piercing and intense.

The man stopped his chasing of the Phanphy. "I don't usually see folks come up here. You lost?"

"We're just climbing," Moira said.

"Just climbing, huh? I like that. You guys probably got some spirit, I'll give you that. The name's Roland—Rolland Carrde. Pleasure to meet you."

He shook both their hands. "Mo," she replied, "and this is my friend, Ian."

"Hello," was all Ian said. "Those your Phanphy?"

Roland laughed. "Just as much as those Spearow in the air are mine, or the Goldeen in the river. I'm here on some business. Something's been scaring up the Donphan in the area and somehow those little ones got separated from the main herd. I've been corralling them for almost a week while I look for what's got 'em so spooked."

"We can help," Moira suggested.

Ian gripped her shoulder. "Mo?"

"Oh come on, Ian, we weren't doing much of anything at all, really. We'd love to help. Ian's a Ranger!"

Roland's eyes lit up. "Well I'll be a Mankey's uncle. They let Tyrogues like you into the club?" He laughed and patted Ian on the back. "I'm just messing with you. I'm a Ranger too, outta Celadon City, born and raised."

Ian froze at the mention of Celadon. If this man had been out here for over a week, there was a chance he hadn't heard. Moira noticed it too and shot Ian a look. He understood.

"Viridian via Saffron. Spent some time in Hoenn," he said.

"Globetrotter, eh? Worldly man. I like that."

"So what can we do to help?"

Roland stroked his stubble. "Well, for starters, we won't have to worry about the Phanphy much; they're headed to where I got 'em sleeping for the night. Next thing to do I guess would be to find whatever is giving 'em the heebie jeebies. I've been tracking the brute for a while now. Might help to have a couple of fresh eyes scout around."

The trio set off into the forest. The snow was not as prevalent here, as the canopy of firs covered most of the trail Roland took them on. In the darkness, there was not much to see, but both Roland and Ian seemed in their element. Moira stood behind them, like a fourth Magnemite, too late to the party.

"Any idea of what we're looking for, Roland?"

"Something big, or something nasty. Both, probably. I never got a good look at it."

Ian had his reservations about this Carrde, but he seemed all right, if not a bit goofy. He always had respect for a Ranger, and the man seemed more than competent. They continued their search.

"You said you've been up here for a week?" Ian asked.

"Maybe more? Some of the locals put in an official complaint about the noise of the Phanphy stomping about all over creation. One thing led to another and here I am, freezing my tail off on a wild Swanna chase. Them's the bones."

"Why you?" Moira asked.

"Well, Miss, it's probably because even gruff Octavius has heard of old "Roulette" Carrde. I got a bit of rancher and breeder in me from my folks. Guess it stuck." He smiled through his moustache.

There search continued until all three agreed that it was far too late to continue. The found a clearing and set up fire wood. Moira's Charizard provided the fire. The snow had stopped a while back, and the three sat down looking up at the sky.

"There's no one up there, you know," Roland said. "Hasn't been since before you both were born, I reckon."

"You've been to the top?" Moira asked.

"Once, a few years back. Ask around; people'll tell you. It's probably been, oh, thirty some years since Red stood up there."

"Red?" The name on Moira's tongue flew up and into the air. The wind picked up.

"You ain't never heard of Ol' Red before?"

She shook her head. "My dad told me about him, once, when I was little."

Roland smiled at the stars. "Red was a boy who took on the Pokemon League Challenge, brought down Team Rocket in their heyday, and beat the Champion. After that, I suppose he figured there weren't much else to do, so he climbed up Mt. Silver to train and challenge any other trainer brave, or foolish, enough to climb the mountain—so the legend goes. Always wanted to meet him. He seems like the fella who'd sit down and have a drink in silence with you. Speaking of which…" He reached into his pack and pulled out a worn flask emblazoned with an old Ranger logo. "Would either of you like to partake?"

Ian took a small sip, but Moira declined. The amber liquid burned as it slid down his throat. He suppressed a gag. Roland reached for the flask and took a liberal swig. "Got a kick to it, don't it? It helps keep the cold away. Sometimes I think about coming up here full time. I can see why Red liked it so much. Just me under the stars."

He looked over at his two new companions. "You folk are welcome too, if you don't make too much noise while I'm trying to sleep."

The implication was not lost on them. Moira looked away, and Ian could feel his cheeks redden from embarrassment and alcohol. He took the flask from Roland.

Something snapped in the thicket. Ian woke up instantly, his ranger training kicking in despite the alcohol. He must have fallen asleep. Moira was asleep, her head against the pack. Roland was sitting at the edge of the camp. A massive host floated next to him. Ian recognized it as a Dusknoir. He took a position next to Roland. "What do you hear?" he asked.

"Something different. I think this might be our boogeyman."

Ian woke Moira who rubbed her eyes and stretched as he led her over. From the thicket, massive roar echoed through the forest. "There she is…" Roland said. The Dusknoir clapped its hands in glee.

The pokemon came thrashing through the brush. It was a massive Ursaring, larger than anyone Ian had seen before. Its fur was a deep auburn. A deep gash broke the circle in its chest. It swiped madly at the Dusknoir only to phase right through it. The Dusknoirs eye's glowed a necrotic yellow.

"Can't run away now, can you, dearie?" Roland called.

The Ursaring uprooted a small tree and swung it at Roland. Ian released his Skarmory which cut through the trunk like paper. The Ursaring roared as the Dusknoir sent a chilly flame towards it. The Ursaring shrugged it off and charged. In mid air, it locked eyes with the Dusknoir. Its eyelids drooped and it fell to the ground.

"Nice save there, Ian. Alright, time to finish this one up."

"What are you going to do with it?" Moira asked.

"League says I got to put whatever it is making a fuss and causing all this down. It's a dirty business, but me and Dusknoir got it down to an art. He'll put 'em to sleep, and then he'll make it so that they don't wake up."

"What? How can you do that! She's clearly hurt. Didn't you see that gash? It looked infected!"

"They don't pay me to play doctor, Miss."

"Well I won't let you do that." She stood in between the Roland, his Dusknoir, and the slumbering Ursaring. The Dusknoir gave a curious moan.

"Stand down, you old spook; I think the lady has something in mind."

Moira reached for a pokeball at her belt. It was empty. It had been Nidoking's. The nurses had returned it to her. She looked down and gripped it in her hand. "We'll make you better, Ursaring. I promise." She tossed the ball and the Ursaring disappeared in a flash of red. It only gave a routine shake before the ball chimed. She picked up the ball, felt its weight, and placed it on her belt.

She smiled. "Problem solved!"

Roland and his Dusknoir exchanged glances and shrugged; Ian was already headed back to bed.


	33. Part 23: Hook

23

[8:15. Route 7. Between Celadon and Saffron. The same day.]

Night crept on the group as two became three.

Saffron City was just beginning to light up. Molly could hear the sound of the city come to life. The dark storm clouds loomed overhead, threatening rain with every gust of wind. Molly looked to Miles who walked next to Vi, helping with the man's bad ankle.

"I really do appreciate you folks for taking the time out and helping me."

"It was nothing," Miles said. "I couldn't well live with myself if I didn't help people."

Molly's stomach clenched. It's like he was two different people. There was the Miles that helped her from the elevator and took the time to help Vi, but then there was the Miles who only thought of himself—a self-preservationist. It made her uneasy.

"Not too much longer now," Miles said. "If our luck holds, we should make it to the city by nightfall. Maybe check into a motel."

"Sounds good," Vi said. "I can help cover it."

"We'd appreciate that," Molly said.

"What is it you folks are doing? Yout two just get out of that death trap?"

Miles nodded. "I'm a firefighter. Got out when things got too hot. I found Molly here trapped in an elevator."

Vi laughed. "I knew it was smarter to take the stairs."

Miles added a chuckle. "Tell that to that ankle of yours."

"It's not as bad as it looks." He put weight on it and winced in pain. "Maybe it is."

"How'd you make it out this far from Celadon?" Molly asked.

Vi smiled. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

His smiled look forced. Molly observed their new companion and found him lacking. He looked too boyish for his age, like ha had spent his entire life goofing off before the world turned upside down. He was scrawny, though she had to concede that he did not look weak, merely battered. The burn on his face gave him a haunted look and his left eye would not open all the way; it would twitch uncontrollably and tear from time to time, usually after a gust of wind. He looked to be in a great deal of pain, and then there were his pokemon to think about.

"Are your pokemon alright? We have medicine," Molly offered. Vi waved her away.

"They're fine, thank you."

The kept walking in silence. The rain came first softly, then it picked up until the three pilgrims were forced to seek shelter. There was a small forest off the road. Inside the misty cool of the forest, they found shelter in a small cave.

"Son of a bitch." Miles said as he wrung out his shirt. Molly and Vi had gotten a small fire going in the cave with the help of Typhlosion. "Thought we might be able to race it. Guess we'll have to pick this back up when the rain stops."

"Sorry if I slowed you two down."

Miles laid out his shirt on the ground near the fire. In the orange glow, Molly could see several tattoos across his body. "Don't apologize," Miles said, "You'd be stuck out by that rock in the rain.

Vi sneezed. "Too true. I'm not a fan of that prospect."

Molly combed through her hair. "Well, it's not a hotel, but we've stayed in worse places recently."

"Amen," Miles said. He rooted through his packs for a couple of rations. He passed them out. Molly knew there were only two left. She and Vi each took one. "Tomorrow, we'll get something real to eat."

Molly stared at her ration. She didn't feel the hunger in her stomach. "You take this, Miles." She offered up the ration to the man. Miles laughed. "I'm good. You take it."

Molly knew that it was a losing battle. She hesitantly unwrapped the ration and began to eat. Quietly, Vi picked at his voraciously."

Miles peeked out of the mouth of the cave. "It doesn't look like this storm is gonna pass anytime soon. Might as well hunker up and get comfy."

Molly laid out her jacket on the ground near the fire. She posted her head on her pack and watched the rain fall. Miles had volunteered for first watch. She had been surprised when Vi offered to take it. Miles declined, and Vi looked too tired to fight the point. He told Miles he would have second watch. Miles agreed and pulled a rock in from outside the cave and sat down. Vi took a moment to remove his shoe and massage his ankle.

"Looks like it hurts." Molly said.

"What gave it away?" Vi asked.

She laughed and said nothing. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this sarcastic."

Vyro returned the laugh with an empty smile. "No, of course not." He rubbed his ankle, trying to combat the swelling. "What were you doing in Celadon?"

She rolled over and traced invisible faces on the ceiling of the cave. "I was just passing through. Enjoying the culture. What Hoenn girl hasn't heard that Celadon is the Lilycove of Kanto? I was taking an extended vacation."

Molly noticed Vi softly smiling at her. "Not the best idea, in retrospect. What about you?"

Vi ran a hand over his leg and scooted closer to the dying fire. "I met a guy out of Vermillion that said he had a business proposition in Celadon. He was a very persuasive man."

Molly propped her head up with her hand. "You're a businessman?"

"I just take opportunities as they come." He seemed to choose his words very carefully. "The man was selling a new Celadon image. Bad time to enter the market if you ask me."

"I guess so."

Vi laid out a shirt from his pack and covered himself with what looked like a cape. Molly didn't judge his awful fashion sense. Celadon attracted all kinds.

"Goodnight, Molly."

When Molly awoke it was still raining. Night still gripped the predawn. Miles was snoring softly with his hands crossed over his chest. The fire was long dead, and the mouth of the cave smelled of smoke. Vi was nowhere to be seen. She rubbed her tired eyes and stretched her cramped body. Two days without a bed was taking its toll on her dainty back. Vi's things were still strewn where he left them

Molly shook Miles awake.

"Wha…Morning already?" He asked through a Pyroar's yawn.

"Vi's gone."

He sat up and squinted. "What?"

"Miles, he's gone. All his stuff's still here."

The firefighter cracked his neck. "The hell?" He threw on his coat and peeked out of the cave. It was still raining, and it showed no sign of stopping. "He's lost his damn mind."

Molly threw on her coat as well. "Maybe he saw something?"

Miles was halfway through lacing his boots. "I told him to wake me if he saw anything. Something's not right."

"Should we go look for him? Maybe he's in trouble."

"Like hell I'm gonna leave him out there. No telling what kind of psychos might be lurking in this forest."

Molly bit her lip and crossed her arms. "Like Harley and Garth?"

The man froze as he was leaving the cave. He turned and gripped Molly's arm so tight, she flinched and tried to pull away, but she could not pull free from his vicegrip.

"Let go of me. You're hurting me," she said.

Miles thought for a moment, then released his grip. "This is different and you know it."

He left the cave, throwing up the collar of his coat. Molly massaged her upper arm; she could still feel Miles's strong hand press into her skin.


	34. Part 24: Underrated

24

[1:51 PM. Goldenrod City Underground. Goldenrod City. Earlier the same day.]

Claudia rubbed the bruise on her head.

They were in a messy apartment. Light trickled in from the one singular slat where the window was not covered by newspapers or cardboard boxes. Finder shooks his hands and gave Kadabra a loving pat of affection before returning him to his ball. Aiden had landed upside-down onto an old table that sent papers and old dishes flying.

"Told you I'd get us out of there," Finder boasted with his chest puffed out like a songbird. "Yessir, you can count on Finder."

Claudia wiped the stars from her vision and checked the rest of her body for bumps or bruises. Thankfully, her dress was relatively unscathed, though it would take weeks to get the smell of the dank apartment out. The smell was old and acrid; it stung her nostril. She resolved to breathe through her mouth from now on.

"Not the most graceful teleportation I have ever endured," she said, offhandedly. "I had it under control. Your bumbling just attracted more attention."

Finder brushed dust off his coat before hanging it up on a crooked rack. "Please, you're gonna tell me that one girl taking on at least five muscleheads wouldn't have drawn more attention? I gotta say, you don't seem as smart as Aiden here made you out to be."

Aide righted himself from under the table. "Where are we?" he asked, still dazed from the trip.

"There is more than one way to skin a Skitty," Claudia chided. "Good question, Aiden, where are we exactly?"

"Yes! Welcome to my humble abode. This is where the magic happens. Evil-doers tremble at the mere mention of the Finder & Keeper duo!"

Claudia stood and tried to take in the entirety of the disheveled apartment. "So, this is where you live, right? I was afraid of that."

"Sure, it's not as elaborate and immaculate as your castle up on the mountain, but we get things done here. Don't judge a book by its cover!"

The Dark-Type Master picked up a plate crusted with what looked like pasta sauce. She held it like it was a disgusting piece of road kill and placed it down on the table. She stepped over the debris and garbage to help Aiden up. "You know, I don't make a habit of going home with strange men."

Finder chuckled. "You're not my type."

The man disappeared into a side room. Claudia and Aiden gave each other a knowing look and began clearing mountains of old food and papers from a pea-soup green chair. Claudi sat down and stretched her legs before neatly crossing them. She was around company, of course.

"Where did you dig up this guy?" She asked Aiden.

The breeder wiped grime from his glasses. "While his methods may be a bit unorthodox, I truly believe he might be the best there is. Without a doubt the best person for what you're after."

A large crash of what sounded like glass heralded a bout of pitched shouting from the side room. Something dense hit the wall. The shouting continued.

"I mean, I think so."

Finder came out of the room and locked the door behind him. He saw his two guests stare with disapproving glares. "You know how girls are, right?"

Claudia re-crossed her feet. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Oh, her? That's Keeper, my partner. She can be a bit moody sometimes, I'm sure you understand, miss."

She scowled. Finder did not bother to sell the joke. "I'd appreciate it if you actually told me how you can help me. So far I see nothing but a bumbling kid in a too-big jacket living like a Garbador. My time is valuable."

"They don't teach manners up at the Plateau?" He rustled around the mounds of paper, searching for something. "I gotcha, I gotcha. Gimme a second."

Claudia shot a disapproving glance to Aiden. He shrugged and kicked at a stack of magazines with all the women's faces cut out.

"Here we go. I think you'll be interested in this." He produced a coffee stained folder and handed it to Claudia. She flipped through the paper inside; she was impressed. The folder was entirely about the man called Gillian, the one Gaap had encountered in Celadon City, the one in Kanto custody.

"Very thorough," she said. "What am I looking at? This is the man we captured. So what? I more interested in the ones we missed."

Finder took the packet and flipped to a specific page. He pointed triumphantly at the caption of a newspaper clipping. AREA BILLIONAIRE, GILLIAN STONE TO BUY GOLDENROD ELECTRIC. The caption read: "Local Johtoan, Gillian Stone, owner and founder of Olivine Steel made a visit to the Headquarters of Goldenrod Electric here in Goldenrod yesterday afternoon. When asked about his intentions, Stone was quoted as saying 'I've always had my eye on GE, now that Mr. Silph is ready to talk, I would love to bring this company back under the scruples of Johto.' He went on to say that 'the people of Johto demand a bit of self-determination. I believe Mr. Silph and I can reach an amiable agreement.' Goldenrod Electric is a subsidiary corporation to Silph Co. and has been for nearly fifteen years now. This marks the first time Dorian Silph, president of Silph Co., has been open to talks regarding the acquisition of the company."

Claudia read and re-read the clipping, and then handed it to Aiden who did the same. "Gillian Stone…he looks completely unrecognizable. Definite secessionist views, muted for the press, of course. Seems like a big publicity stunt. Maybe he tried to bring up the subject of Johto for Johtoans?"

"That's what I thought, then I went digging some more. As far as anybody knows, Gillian Stone purchased GE from Silph Co." He pointed at the second headline dated two days later: GILLIAN STONE PUTS THE 'GOLDENROD' BACK IN 'GOLDENROD ELECTRIC.' "But I came up with this." He flashed a blurry photo of a record. "According to this, the deal never went through; Silph never sold GE."

She squinted to see the words in the photo. As much as she hated it, he was right. The record clearly stated that on the day the deal was to be done, Dorian Silph never showed. "Ok, what can we do with this? If Gillian was behind it, and he was upset at Silph for blindsiding him, wouldn't he have gone after Saffron?"

"No, no. I don't think Silph was the problem. I think something went down at GE."

Claudia raised an eyebrow and sat up in the chair, smoothing out her dress. "So what you're saying is, you want to break into Goldenrod Electric?"

He smiled. "Not break in, per se. I figured a smooth criminal like me and a dark and mysterious lady like you, plus a nerd like Aiden might be able to walk right in the front door.

"What are we looking for once we get in there?"

"I guess we'll know when we see it." He flashed a set of brilliant teeth that shone out through the squalor of his apartment. "They don't call me Finder for nothing."


	35. Part 25: Wild Carrde

[6:32 AM. Mt. Silver Footpath. Mt. Silver. The next morning.]

Ian stretched out his weary body in the light of the dawn. Moira still slept clutching her new ball to her chest. Carrde sat at the edge of an overhang where a small stream trickled precariously over the edge. He hadn't slept.

"What do you know about this place, Ian?"

Ian took a seat next to Carrde on the ledge. The sun tiptoed over the horizon and bathed the mountain glen in rapturous vermillion a billion years young. The forest below was coming to life.

"Not much—just that everyone seems fascinated by it."

Carrde took a twig between his fingers and snapped it. "You grow up around here and you just can't ignore it. They say a legendary pokemon makes this place its home."

The cool morning breeze kissed at Ian's cheeks. Moira made a noise somewhere between a yawn and a growl and rolled over in her sleep. "I thought you said you were born and raised in Celadon?"

"I was. Mom was from Blackthorn, though. Lots of family trips up here. She never liked moving for work, and she was never happy in Celadon."

Ian felt his stomach tighten at the mention of Celadon. Carrde would have to find out eventually, but Ian hoped it would not be he who broke the news to him.

"So what is it you two kids plan on doing after we part ways, seeing as how you all helped me out?" Carrde asked.

Ian knew what they were supposed to do, but he also knew what Moira would do, and he knew which one of them was the more vocal. He didn't think they had enough supplies or skill to summit the mountain. Moira would obviously think otherwise.

"I guess y'all intend to conquer this peak, right? An admirable goal."

"You're welcome to tag along, if you'd like," Ian offered. The man pulled a cigarette from a small metal case. He lit it, exhaled softly, and sighed against the sky. The smoke smelled sweet, unlike the acrid smoke of Werner's cigars.

"I'm gonna make some coffee, you want some?"

Ian nodded. Carrde stood and pat him on the shoulder as he walked back to camp. Ian turned and watched the Ranger whistle his way over to the camp. He had Dusknoir start the fire and began making his coffee. The smell of the roasting beans roused Moira from her sleep. She yawned and stretched. "Morning, Roland," she said.

He gave her a wave with his free hand as he took a long, contemplative drag from his cigarette. "Morning, missy. Coffee's brewing. Ian's over yonder on the cliff."

Ian watched her walk towards him. She was a bit off-center from sleep; he found it adorable. She sat down next to him, dangling her thin legs over the edge of the cliff. "Pretty sunrise," she said.

"You too," he said absentmindedly. Moira giggled as he realized what he had said.

"Thank you, Ian."

He felt his cheeks redden and turned away. Carrde walked over and handed a small thermos of coffee to each of the two. "It's not what they serve back home, but for the trail, it's pretty good. Hope you like your coffee black." He sat down in between Moira and Ian and took a long sip from his thermos. He lit a second cigarette and offered the case to Ian. Making a rash decision based on impulse, he took a hand rolled cigarette and lit it. He took an uncharacteristically long drag. The smoke burned his mouth and he hacked violently, spitting over the edge. He tossed the cigarette over the edge while Moira and Carrde laughed. He tried to wash the taste out with coffee.

"No need to go impressing anyone, partner," Carrde said. He chuckled into his thermos. Ian caught a glance of Moira snickering as she sipped her coffee. The coffee was too bitter to wash the acrid taste of smoke from his mouth, but he drank it regardless. His head was beginning to reel.

"I wasn't…" Ian began to say.

"Suppose you two'll be heading on up now, eh?" Carrde said. Moira looked to Ian. "I'd like to try and find out what might've attacked Ursaring."

Carrde shook his head. "Looked like Fearow marks to me. Maybe she got too near a nest; those things'll rip you to shreds if you take 'em lightly."

"No," Ian said flatly, "Those wounds were too big for a single Fearow strike. We get people and pokemon admitted to the Vermillion Hospital all the time from Fearow attacks, and they're never that bad. Something else did that. A Fearow wouldn't pick a fight with an Ursaring either; they're too big—maybe a dive bomb here or there, but they'd never get low enough to where the Ursaring could pin them down."

Carrde let out a low whistle. "Kid knows his Fearows. All I can say is that I've spent a good bit of my life around this mountain, and there's nothing much that could put a dent on that Ursaring like that. Whatever it is, I'd advise you leave it well enough alone. Best let sleeping Herdier lie."

"Well whatever it is, it might still be out there. Isn't it your job to find out?" Moira asked the two Rangers.

"It's not my job till some paper-pusher in Viridian says it's my job. I gotta get on back down anyway; let the farmers and shepherds know the coast is clear."

"But it's not clear! Whatever attacked Ursaring could attack them too!"

Carrde chuckled. "You wanna go tackle your boogeyman, be my guest. Me? I'm going down to Viridian, punching my clock, and taking a nice hot shower."

Moira crossed her arms like a defeated child. "What Mo is trying to say, Carrde, is that we'd like you to come with us. I think we'd both feel better if we had someone who knew the area as well as you do with us."

"Sorry, friend. This train's rolling to the station. Maybe our paths will cross again. Look me up in Viridian on your way down and we'll grab a drink."

After they had said their goodbyes and parted ways, Ian and Moira began their ascent again. Periodically, Moira would stop and release her Ursaring, treating its wounds. The Ursaring would glare at her as she applied salves and ointment to the festering wounds, but she would not attack. The wounds were not bloody; they seemed horrifically cauterized, but thoroughly infected.

"Only a Drapion could inflict a wound like that, and there are no Drapion on Mt. Silver," Ian observed.

"That doesn't explain the cauterization," Moira replied.

They kept walking; Ian did not think that even Moira knew where they were going. He knew she wanted to get to the top, but she seemed incredibly distracted by the plight of her Ursaring. Afternoon turned to evening in a transition of molten palettes. They stopped near a stream to rest and refill their canteens. The brook reflected the colors of the sky in a softly trickling painting of reds and purples. Ian splashed the cool water on his face.

Moira sat on a stone by the brook. She had released her pokemon to relax in the fading light. Her Charizard lazed in the shade of the trees, and her Starmie splashed in the crystal water. Ursaring stood at the edge of the brook, looking at her reflection, never breaking eye contact with the bear that looked back up at her.

Ian felt the wind pick up, and with it, the temperature rose dramatically. He found he needed to remove his scarf and coat to cool down. Moira looked confused. "Some weather we're having, huh?"

Ian took a drink from the brook. The Ursaring gave a warning growl as his hands disturbed the pristine reflection. He took the warning in stride and wiped the water from his lips. "Alright, alright. I got it," he said.

The Ursaring focused on the reflection. Moira walked over and put a hand on her. Normally she would recoil from her touch, but now the bear did not react. "Ursaring?" Moira asked." The sound of a bird echoed across the mountain.

It happened in a flash; Ursaring dove into Moira, knocking her back. Moira gasped and Ian released his Electivire in an attempt to subdue the bear. Ursaring roared as the screeching of the bird grew louder; it had happened in the blink of an eye—a massive pair of talon marks scarred the ground where Moira and Ursaring had stood not a moment before. Ian and Electivire scanned the sky. The cawing seemed to come from the sun itself. Ursaring reacted first. She dove into the water and leapt into the air, hurling the water in front of her. There was a titanic crash as the Ursaring impacted the ground. Moira rushed to her aid. The cawing turned to screeching, and the bird passed out of the glare of the sun. It was a massive bird, its feather burning the flames of the sun. It shot a jet of fire into the air in triumph.

"What is that thing?" Moira cried.

_They say a legendary pokemon makes this place its home._

The bird perched on the cliff face, and a young man stepped forward. He was tall, yet built, all lean muscle. His dark hair was tied back in a traditional top knot. He wore red hemmed white robes and a sword hung at the side of his belt.

"Santiago!" Ian called out.

The man tilted his head. "If you were anyone else I might consider that an insult." The bird screeched. The man put his hand onto the fire of the birds wings as easily as if they were weaved from cloth. "You may call me Odan, heir to the Sage of Fire," Odan smiled and threw off his cloack, revealing the scarred muscle underneath. "And this is my mountain."


	36. Part 26: Line

26

[2:01 AM. Unnamed Forest. Outside Saffron City. Earlier the same day.]

Vi was beginning to doze off.

The fire was slowly petering out, the small cracks and pops of the last of the kindling mixed with the muffled snoring of the two trainers asleep in the cave. Vi sat on the boulder keeping watch. The rain continued to fall, and it showed no signs of stopping. Tomorrow they would be in Saffron. Tomorrow, tomorrow…

Molly turned over in her sleep. Vi looked over his shoulder at her softly sleeping figure. He was hypnotized at the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. She looked so vulnerable lying there. As if in a trance he stood and walked over to her. He hovered there for a moment, imagining what she must dream of in this new world. He crouched down and placed a hand on her porcelain forehead. "I think I'll keep you," he whispered.

As we walked back to his post on the stone, he considered Miles. Dealing with him would pose a problem, especially if he intended to keep the girl around. He couldn't do it here; Molly would surely wake up and that would not do. He would need to get creative, and if there was anything Vi was, he could say he was very creative.

But that was a thought for another day. There would be plenty of time for an accident or a mysterious disappearance once they reached Saffron. Who knows what trouble a self-righteous meat head could get into in the big bad under city of Saffron? Vi chuckled to himself and whistled a soft tune.

The rain provided such a metronomic beat that Vi found it hard to stay awake without sheer focus. He was halfway between sleep and consciousness when he heard the hurried sound of footsteps splashing through the wet foliage. Vi perked up and saw a young woman, dirty and disheveled step from the underbrush covered in mud and cuts. She stood like a trainer, but her eyes looked hollow and glazed.

"Please! Come help!" she said through the rain. Her voice seemed far away, yet clear inside Vi's head. He stared at her for a pregnant moment through the rain. She stood as if she could not tell she was currently drenched. "We have wounded!"

"Please?" she whispered inside Vi's head.

He looked back at the two once more. Surely they'd be fine for a bit? The girl was pretty; cropped black hair and a thin, angular face. Vi got up and stepped out into the rain.

"Come on, take me to them," he said.

The woman grabbed his arm; her hands were icy cold, and it sent a cold jolt throughout his entire body. She must be freezing, he thought.

The woman lead her into the forest, deeper and deeper, until Vi could no longer see the faint orange glow of the fire. The rain felt like iceicles against his skin, but he kept pace with the woman who ran like someone's life depended on it. His ankle burned and protested, but he ignored it. She said nothing, but Vi was content to watch the perky sashaying of her rear in her tight pants. Several pokeballs were clipped to a leather belt that ran the length of her thin waist.

They came to a clearing in the forest with a single massive tree in the center. It was large enough for several people to stand comfortably in. The tree seemed hollowed out. She took his arm once more.

"In here."

She lead him into the tree. To his surprise, the bottom had been hollowed out and a small, creaking staircase lead down into the earth. Several torches lit the inside as the two descended. "She's just down here."

With each step into the tree, he felt himself unable to fight off the notion of sleep. On the fourth step form the ground, he lost control and tumbled to the ground as he fell asleep.

Miles thought for a moment, and then released his grip. "This is different and you know it."

He left the cave, throwing up the collar of his coat. Molly massaged her upper arm; she could still feel Miles's strong hand press into her skin.

Miles raced through the forest. He was not losing another person now, not when Molly was already wary of him. He had to prove to her that he could protect her. He would do anything for her, she just did not know that. If something happened to Vi, and he did nothing, then When they reached Saffron, that would be the last he would see of her, he was sure. The rain picked up, he squinted to keep the water from his eyes. He remembered his training. Something had disturbed the foliage heading deep into the forest. He followed the tracks, panting as he ran, trying his best to keep pace. The rain was uncharacteristically cold, he felt it in his blood. He had made a rash decision based on fear by leaving Molly behind. From what he knew of the girl, he banked on the fact that she could defend herself if push came to shove. Vi, on the other hand…Miles had no idea if the kid could hold his own, even if he was in his peak.

The forest opened into a yawning clearing with a massive, hollowed out tree in the center. Miles could hear soft laughter from deep inside the tree. He wiped the rain from his face and stepped inside.

Vi came to the giggling of a Haunter in his face. It licked him with its icy tongue as it saw his eyes flutter. Vi panicked as the tongue sent cool paralysis throughout his body. He tried to move, but he found he was trapped, spread eagle. His hand and legs were bound with rusty clamps. He tried to scream, but he was gagged with a vine of some sort. He saw the girl he had followed simply standing in the center of the room; she did not look at him, in fact, she simply stared into space. Vi wasn't even sure she was breathing. An old woman's voice echoed from deep within the cavern.

"Thank you, Emily that will be all."

The woman called Emily nodded. "Yes, Master." She left the glow of the torches into the cavern. The Haunter laughed.

The old woman stepped into the light.

"My, my, what do we have here?"

Vi pushed against his restraints. This was getting old. So much for helping someone. Helping someone? He thought. What? Why? I'm supposed to be back at the cave. Where am I? His mind raced like a Rapidash as the old woman grinned, revealing the few teeth she still possessed.

"Such a scrawny little boy. Hardly a good catch. Your dreams were particularly fervid. That burn can't hide your past. You're as crazy as I am, aren't you?" She laughed. Her voice was like a nail scratching on metal—the high screech of tin on concrete.

"Let me out of here!" Vi shouted against his gag.

"No, no, no, can't do that. It's been so long since I've had a good meal, so long,"

She was going to eat him?

The thought rattled in his head like a wasp. Sweat dripped down his head.

She seemed to decipher his thoughts. "I'm not going to eat you-eat you," she laughed. "But this won't be pleasant."

From the cavern, the creaking and moaning, came a looming Trevenant. The haunted tree wailed, and Vi's stomach dropped. It crawled towards the struggling and bound Vi. He felt something tugging at the border of his mind. Something was gnawing at him. He failed to scream.


	37. Part 27: Undercover

[3:57 PM. Goldenrod City Streets. Goldenrod City. The previous day.]

Claudia squirmed inside her new clothes.

Back at the apartment, Finder had requisitioned some of his partners clothes, claiming they were "roughly the same size." She found the clothes tighter than even she would like. The pencil skirt and blouse was very businesslike, as Finder had promised, however. Finder himself, wore a suit and coat he had dug up from somewhere in the mess of his apartment.

"This is ridiculous. I look like something out of a boy's fantasy."

Finder scanned the street. People were milling about, going to an fro, talking at newspaper stands and coffee shops about what had happened, and what would it mean for Johto with her newfound independence. "Nonsense, you look fine. Stop looking so suspicious."

"Suspicious? You're the one looking around like your casing a bank or something."

"We'll that's more or less what we're doing, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not illegal to stand on the street."

He waved a hand at her. "You can never be too careful," he said.

"Can we just get going? You look like nothing short of a criminal."

He turned and gave her a wicked smile. "Claudia, we are criminals."

She didn't argue the point. Normal human communications did not seem to crack the rocky idiocy that Finder radiated. Whatever her feelings towards the kid, Claudia knew that he had given them the only solid lead on any of the identities of the Johto Four, and that had to be worth something.

They began walking again towards the headquarters of Goldenrod Electric. The monolithic building had grown with Johto to the mountain it was today. Goldenrod Electric powered all of Johto; such a company would be integral to either side if a conflict ever broke out. Claudia had vivid memories of the GE building dominating the skyline form her childhood, when her father, Morty would take her into the city. To most Johtoans, GE was a symbol of the integrity of all Johto; others decried it as to Kantoesque, preferring the simpler ways that Johto had pioneered, compared to the heavily industrialized Kanto. GE always made its best effort to appease these naysayers. It was the cleanest power company in the world, so Claudia had been told by the nice tour-lady when she was a child.

They stepped towards the entrance. Finder smoothed his shirt and walked inside. The lobby was immaculate. It was painted a deep maroon. Plants and various paintings adorned the walls. Toward the back, underneath the massive Goldenrod Electric logo, a young woman sat at a desk taking calls. She put her current call on hold and addressed the two with practiced nuance and recitation.

"Welcome to Goldenrod Electric, Johto's premier energy supplier. Do you have an appointment?"

Before Claudia could answer, Finder had released a large Venomoth. The woman at the desk stood up, but before she could say anything, the moth sprinkled a thin powder over her. The woman's eyes fluttered and she fell to the floor, asleep. Finder returned his bug.

"That's your plam?" she whispered fiercely. "Are you crazy?"

He made his way to the computer at the desk and began furiously typing. "I didn't see you suggest anything else. Got it. Come here." Claudia ran as fast as her skirt would allow. Finder had pulled up a map of the building. "I can't anything confidential from this computer, but I did find out where the CEO's office is. Seventh floor, second on the right. Come on, we got to go. We're taking the stairs."

He released a Magnemite for its ball. "Buy us some time."

The Magnemite gave a robotic screech of understanding. It hovered out the door. Finder waited a few seconds before the lights cut off and the hum of a backup generator flashed the small emergency floodlights on. "Let's go. We won't get far in an electric company by just shutting off the power."

They burst through the door into the stairwell. Every other landing seemed weakly lit. They took the steps two at a time, pushing past a pair of confused employees as they climbed. Winded and sweating, the pair came to the seventh floor.

"Second on the right, second on the right," Finder muttered to himself.

The hallway was long; the first door on either side was on the far end of the hall. Nobody was home, it seemed; all the higher-ups must be out of town, or getting a drink, or golfing, or whatever it was that executives did. The nameplate of the second door on the right read: WOLFGANG HERSHEL-MYERS, CEO. The door was locked, but it gave way after a few solid lunges from Finder.

The room was a din of paper and files, as if a move was taking place. Finder read through a memo that lay on the desk. "Guess it was sold." He handed the memo to Claudia. The memo was a mess of legalese and doublespeak. It looked mass-produced—not even customized for the CEO himself. Finder kept digging. He pulled up a letter emblazoned with the Silph Co. letterhead. "Who's Robert Grayson?"

"Who?" Claudia replied.

"Robert Grayson. It's a letter from Silph Co stating that Robert Grayson will now be overseeing affairs as CEO of Goldenrod Electric." He gave the letter to Claudia.

"Silph Co.? What are they doing? Don't they already own this company?"

Finder had jury rigged the lock of the file cabinet underneath the desk. As he fingered through the files, the main lights came on.

"Whatever you're doing, make it quick, Finder."

"I know, I know." He kept digging. Claudia stepped over to the door to keep watch. The door to the stairwell opened. She ducked back in the office."

"Less than a minute, someone's coming."

Finder swore. He got to the last file, then swore again, only this time it was stretched out and almost a whisper.

"Holy shit."

He pulled the file out. The header read simply: GIOVANNI.


	38. Part 28: Trump Carrde

[5:11 PM. Mt. Silver Grove. Mt. Silver. The next day.]

Ian flinched at the sight of the man.

In the setting sun, Odan stood atop the rock face, eyes burning with seething power. He stretched his chiseled body. His massive bird expelled a jet of fire in a look of disdain.

"We're just passing through; we meant no disrespect," Ian professed.

"Intentions are always do muddled and foggy. It is often difficult to extract the true motie from someone unwilling to divulge that information." He tightened the sash at his wasit. "You could be the enemy."

"The enemy? What does that even mean?" Ian said.

"My master has many enemies, both known and unknown. Are you an enemy?"

"All we're doing is passing through, just hiking."

Odan leapt from the stone wall onto the ground with Moira and Ian. Ian steeled himself next to his Electivire. Moira returned her pokemon to their balls. Odan studied Ian. Ian could feel the man's eyes burn through him, but he did not back down.

"Your coat bears the insignia of the Rangers. Are you a Ranger?"

Ian nodded.

"And who is she? Her clothes tell me nothing."

Ian glanced over at Moira. "She's my friend. Like I said before, we're just going up the mountain."

"And for what purpose?"

Moira stepped forward. "We came to investigate the report of a creature attacking pokemon in the area. All evidence point to a large bird, your bird." She sood firm against the man. Odan whistled, and his bird flew behind him. Ian shielded his face from the heat of the bird's flames."

"Oh, you mean Moltres?" Odan smirked. "I tamed Moltres many years ago. You say he has been attacking pokemon in the area?"

"Yes," Moira said defiantly.

"Those are serious accusations to make against one of the great Sages."

"I don't know what these Sages are, or what that makes you," Ian said, "but I know that you have no right to impede us. We act under the auspice of the Pokemon League. You do not own this mountain."

Odan smiled. "You speak strongly. Tell me what is your name?"

"Ian Silph." The name hung in the air like a challenge. Odan stroked his chin in contrmplation.

"Silph? Not the name I would have expected from one such as you. Names are a powerful and damnable thing, Ian Silph. What does your name say about you?"

Ian did not answer. What had the man meant by that?

"You are an enemy of peace, Ian Silph. Your name is a blight on this beautiful land." Odan drew his sword. Moltres looked on in hungry anticipation. "Your name cursed you before you were even born. You are the enemy. I will do all in my power to eliminate you."

Ian's eyes widened. The setting sun caught the silver glean of his blade as he lunged foraward. Moira reacted first she released her Starmie in a brilliant red flash. Odan collided into an invisible barrier and toppled back. Moltres roared in anger. Ian snapped from his stupor and a set Electivire against the man. It threw a crackling punch of electricity at Odan who caught it with his blade. The electricity coursed through the metal of the blade into Odan. The man winced but did not move from his spot. Electivire bellowed and jumped back.

"I did not mean to involve the girl in this too, but if she insists on interfering, then she is also the enemy."

Moltres launched into the sky as Odan leapt towards Moira. Her Starmie spun to intercept, but Moltres caught it midair and pinned it to the ground. With the Moltres distracted, Electivire threw its entire weight at the flaming bird. With a resounding tackle, it crashed into the bird, freeing the Starmie. Moltres lashed back at the electric titan, throwing it off balance with a powerful stab of its beak, followed by a massive jet of flame. Electivire braced itself against the flame, but it was not enough to withstand the power of the legendary bird.

Odan laughed. Moltres streaked down from the sky towards Ian. He tumbled out of the way as the bird collided into the ground. As he rolled out of danger, he could see the spinning image of Moira cry out. All he could see of Odan was the glint of his blade. Calling on every ounce of Ranger conditioning, he used his momentum from his roll to leap in front of Moira.

Moira screamed.

Blood dripped arhythmically onto the mountain ground. Odan gave a small chuckle. The end of his blade pierced the soft tissue of Ian's lower shoulder.

Ian cracked a twisted grimace of a smile. Embracing the pain, he gripped the blade in his hands. Moira scuttled back.

"Uncharacteristically noble," Odan said evenly, as if he had not expected him to intervene.

"Get out of here, Moira," Ian meekly croaked. He could feel the blood loss taking its toll. Odan lightly twisted the blade in his shoulder. Undaunted, Ian hung on. "Go find help."

Moira took one last look at Ian before running down the trail from where they came. Ian held onto the sword as his Electivire moved behind him. Odan's eyes widened as the oni grabbed the sword as well. "Let's see how much you want this," Ian said.

Odan let go at the very last possible second as Electivire released a massive current of electricity. Ian convulsed as the electricity sprinted throughout his body. The smell of ozone filled the air. He hit the ground. The sword ejected from his shoulder. Moltres cried against the sunset.

Odan took a step forward to take back his blade. Electivire growled warningly. Odan laughed.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you, Ian Silph. Such honor I would not have expected from one of your clan. Perhaps it was I was the fool. I hope we can meet again in the future. One thousand apologies. May that sword serve you with as well as it has me; should you live, you've earned it—should you pass, then you may take it to your grave."

As Ian fluttered in and out of consciousness, he watched Odan's sandaled feet walk away. Tunnel vision gripped the ranger. Odan took a single look back before stepping onto Moltres' back.

Moira and Roland stepped into the grove an interminable amount of hours later. Ian lay on the ground. Electivire stood watch over his trainer. Moira rushed over, ignoring Roland's hand that moved to stop her. The Electivire turned and roared at the woman. She kept running, past the acceptable zone for Electivire, which retaliated by striking at Moira. She fell backwards. Roland stepped forward and helped Moira up. She watched the Ranger slowly approach the Electivire. He held out a hand towards the oni. Electivire regarded him cooly. Roland motioned to the wounded trainers, and the Electivire reluctantly let him pass.

Roland removed his medical supplies from his pack. After giving a cursory treatment, the Ranger took the sword at Ian's side. He looked it over. Electivire gave a low growl at the sight of the sword. Roland wordlessly pantomimed that he meant no harm. Roland cleaned the blade of blood and handed it to Moira. He returned the Electivire to its ball and threw Ian's immobile body over his shoulder.

"We need to get him to a hospital."

Moira nodded, dusted herself off, and followed Roland down the mountain.


	39. Part 29: Sinker

[3:29 AM. Cavernous Tree. Unnamed Forest. The next morning.]

Vi took a moment to vomit against his gag.

The old woman noticed his predicament; with the restrained man more valuable to her alive than dead, she shook her head and removed the vines that pressed against his mouth. Bile poured from his mouth onto the floor of the cavern. He panted, tasting the stale air of the cave. The woman had stopped her assault.

Vi hung from the chains. "How did that feel?" she chided.

His head was swimming; everything was wrong—out of place. Everything flashed in his head like an irregular symphony of fireworks. Every blink was an exercise in pain; every breath felt like he was losing air. Vi was going to die, but he was two discombobulated to realize it.

Trevenant laughed. Whatever it was doing was particularly sinister. Vi felt rage and impotence, both emotions feeding off each other; his anger grew as he tried in vain to break free, and his inability to break free merely served to stoke the fire of his rage.

His pokeballs hung uselessly at his belt. All the mental summoning in the world could not bring forth his partners. Just one would get him out of this. In his pocket, he carried a lockpick. If he could just reach it, he'd be free; a holdover from his more street level days. He considered it a good luck charm. Some luck he had.

"You're fucking dead, you bitch," Vi spat. He felt crushingly angry, like the breaks were off, like the only thing holding him back were the old chains. They rattled ominously with each pull. "I swear I will kill you and burn this whole damn forest down."

She clapped her hands and giggled. Vi could smell the acrid scent of smoke and sulphur on her breath. He spat in her face. Mid-laugh, she froze. She extended a long tongue and licked up the phlegm from her face. At any other time, VI would have been repulsed; now, her act only served to anger him even further. He lashed out against his restraints, gnashing and biting.

"Fuck you."

The woman smiled at him and put a wart hand on his sweating face. "The more you struggle, the more difficult this will be."

"Good."

"For you."

The woman frowned. "I like you, boy. So I'm going to put this key inside your pocket. If you get out, I'm sure you can stop suffocating yourself."

"What the hell are you even talking about."

"Your dreams are rotten, because you are a rotten person. You are also weak, too weak to do anything. You're holding back. All your life, all you've wanted to do is cause others harm, yet you hold back; you're incompetence is not inherent, you just don't seem to want to succeed."

Vi started yelling incoherently as the woman began to laugh and walk away. Her Trevenant followed. The Haunter continued to hover, giggle, blow raspberries, and generally place thoughts of violent suicide in Vi's head. His strength drained, he let himself hang.

"Do what you must; I leave it up to you."

Time seemed to bend and contract inside the tree. He felt himself grow very old, die, and then be born again, only to wind up stuck to the wall again. Minutes felt like years as each heartbeat came at random intervals, as each breath threw itself against his dry throat, making him gag. The only thing he wanted more than to die was to kill something.

He felt pain throughout his body. He had not cried, he had not begged, but now he laughed. It started as a quiet thing, growing like a poisonous weed in his chest until the cavern rang out with his cackling. Haunter gave him a strange look before joining in on the laughter.

Miles could hear soft laughter from deep inside the tree. He wiped the rain from his face and stepped inside. The cavern was large, massive, even. He felt drowned by it, overwhelmed. Each step he took felt like ten, then twenty. The tree was far too big inside than it was on the outside. He could see the faint glow of torches below. He continued to descend the earthy spiral staircase that hugged the walls of the tree. Deeper and deeper her walked until his feet touched earthy ground. In the far back of the wide room, a man hung in chains. He was laughing to himself. Miles ran towards the man, but every step took him two steps backwards; the man at the wall was moving away from him. "Vi! If that's you, man, I need you to say something! Something's weird about this place!" There was no answer. The man on the wall continued to laugh. Miles stopped. The room seemed to stretch. He released his Pinsir and instructed it to grip his shoulder to give him a jolt. The Pinsir nodded and gave Miles a slight bind. The pain shot through Miles' body.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the earthy room he was in was quite small. Vi was chained to the wall, asleep. His face looked gaunt and thin. Miles tested the strength of the chains. They felt very sturdy, despite their age. He swore.

Vi's eye's fluttered open. It took a moment to register the blurry silhouette of a man as Miles, but he exhaled when he did. He started to giggle.

_ I'm tired of holding back._

"Miles…" Vi mustered.

"Vi? I got you, I got you. I'm gonna get you outta here. Wherever the hell _here_ is."

"Miles, the key—the key. She put it in my pocket."

Miles reached in and found the old brass key. "Why the…" Quickly, he undid Vi's restraints. The man fell to the ground with a dull thud. Miles helped him sit up. The Haunter furrowed its brown then disappeared.

Vi took a moment to massage his wrists. He looked to Miles, "Thank you," he said.

Footsteps echoed in the cavern; the old woman was coming back. Miles released his Houndoom which shuddered in the cavern. Miles reached for his own pokemon, but Vi stopped him.

"I need to deal with this myself," he said. "Thank you Miles, but you've given me all I need."

Before he could react, the Houndoom went for Miles' leg. It bit down through bone and tendon sending Miles to the ground. He looked up in horror at the twisted fate of Vi.

"I'll be sure to tell Molly how you heroically helped me escape. I'm sure she'll understand." He bent over and picked up the key.

"Vi..?" Miles said through the rippling pain.

"It's Vyro, the great and powerful Vyro. Maybe you've heard of me?" Miles merely shook his head in pain, shock, and confusion.

"Now you have." He laughed and stomped on Miles' face, knocking him out cold.

The woman entered the cavern. She looked to Vi, then to Miles' cold body, then to the spot on the wall where Vi had been kept.

"I suppose you're going to kill me know," she said.

Molly saw the shadow approach from her boulder in the cave. She rushed out into the rain.

"Miles? Vi?"

Vi stepped in to the light of the cave fire. When they locked eyes, his body seemed to give out; he collapsed into her arms. Molly caught him and dragged him into the cave. Vi coughed as he crawled to the fire.

"Vi? Vi! What happened? Where did you go? Where's Miles?"

"Old woman…empty tree…gave me…time…" His words were hindered by the cold as he struggled to get warm.

"Vi, where's Miles?"

Vi looked up at Molly; her eyes were red. Had she been crying? Had she been worried about him?

"He…he stayed behind."

Molly fell to her knees. Vi got up from the ground and reached out for her. He would have to explain everything, but that could wait until morning.

[8:13 AM. Route 7. Between Celadon City and Saffron City. A few hours later.

Vi took one last look at the forest behind them.

The rain had stopped briefly with the sunrise, and Molly, after much convincing, agreed that they needed to make it to Saffron. He helped her pack up their things. She took what they needed from Miles' pack, and left the rest.

"Maybe he'll come back," she had said.

Vi put a hand on her shoulder. "He's not coming back, Molly."

Saffron loomed ahead. Molly had released her Sceptile to walk with. Vi gave her space. There would be plenty of time to get to know her once they reached Saffron. All roads lead to Saffron, the saying went, and both of them were headed into the very heart of Kanto.

"Why were you headed to Saffron, Vi? Why not Vermillion with the other refugees?"

"I need to meet a man about a business deal," he said.

"What will you do after that?"

Vi did not know. He had not thought out that far. All he knew was that he wanted Molly, and that he would have her, whether she wanted him or not.

"Miles was a good man, Molly," Vi said. "He saved my life twice. If he hadn't have shown up, I would've died in that forest. I owe him in a way I couldn't begin to know. Before he…I told him I'd keep an eye out for you, so that's what I'm going to do.

Molly didn't push the subject. She gripped Vi's hand, as if the slightest breeze would carry him away from her. Everything felt so hollow and thin. They did not mention Miles after they left the forest; his name felt like a curse that hung over the two. To say his name was to invite bad luck.

Saffron was only a half-day's walk away. A half a day from R.I.G—a half a day from vengeance. He squeezed Molly's hand back and smiled to himself, playing his busted ankle perfectly.

[?.?.?.?]

The dark was oppressive; to open your eyes was to invite claustrophobia.

Mile's head was swimming. Where was he? He tried to remember. At the slightest move, white hot knives seemed to dig into his calf. He heard blood drip to the ground below.

Below…

He tried to move, but he was trapped. He pulled against his restraints, but found he was bound by a set of old and rusty chains. Panic crept up like the tide. It started in his stomach, the rose through his heart, sending chills to his extremities, then to his head, where he registered the feeling of primordial fear and ultimate abandonment.

Vyro.

The name burned into his mind.

Vyro. Vyro. Vyro.

He could not ignore the flashing of the name. Vi was Vyro. Vi was a mad man. Vi had Molly.

Molly.

He thrashed uselessly against his chains. He tried to scream, but his mouth was obstructed by a foul smelling vine of some sort. He gagged as the scent of bile filled his nose. He strained his ears to hear something—anything, but there was nothing. No torches illuminated his priso; no jailer kept watch, no window bled light.

He was alone, and he was afraid.


	40. Part 30: Faraway Island

[3:22 PM. Oswald Hanes' Personal Log. All recordings property of THE SILPH COMPANY, Saffron City, Kanto. Do not alter or duplicate. Isolated Testing and Observation Center Codename: {FARAWAY ISLAND} Day 128. **Begin latest Entry**.]

I think they're on to me.

Just last night I received word that Lady Violet would be making a personal appearance at Faraway Island to check on my progress. What can I show here? I have nothing to give. She wants answers; she wants results. I need more time. I need Silph to keep their goons away from me—they scare her. If she becomes sufficiently frightened, then the whole day may be lost. I haven't told her about the visit yet; it's not a good time. Maybe later. Maybe I won't even tell her. She wouldn't like that, but I think it might be for the best.

Yesterday she spoke again. I didn't have the camera's rolling because it was nearly three in the morning, but she did, I swear; she spoke, just like I am into this mic. It's been nearly ninety-seven days since she last spoke. I'm still kicking myself for not having the mic on. Violet will have my balls for that one for sure. I don't even remember what she said; I was half asleep when she walked into the lab. She tugged on my jacket, and…all I remember is her talking. Must remember to set mics to constantly record. That means I'll have to watch what I say in here from now on. Nobody's here but me and her, and I don't think anyone's listening to these, but I can never be too careful.

Seismographs came through today; this is as close to correct as Silph's likely to get. For all intents and purposes, this is Faraway Island. It gets lonely sometimes out here, just me and her. At least she has the pokemon of the island. They flock to her for some reason. She has this effect over them that stirs them from their holes and trees and bushes. Possible communication? All previus tests on the subject have been inconclusive. There is no evidence to suggest that it is possible for a human to speak to a pokemon through verbal communication.

But there's something about her; it's special. I feel very old and very young at the same time when I look at her, like I'm looking at a mirror and a recording at the same time. I feel stretched when I look at her. She always has that goofy grin on her face. Note to self: check brain wave pattern during interaction with the child.

I don't know what they want from me, honestly. When I signed on, no one told me about any of this stuff. Research and Devolpment. R&D. Ha, that's a laugh.

But I can't stop now. Despite my reservations, there does seem to be progress; Meridian shows signs of increased human responsiveness, indicating that the splice might in fact have not been as botched as Lady Violet had previously thought. Again, need more time to observe. It's been half a year since I was tossed onto this island, and almost five since Meridian was born. It's still very early to be looking for anything concrete in her behavioral functions.

[Oswald removes his glasses and cradles his head in his hands.]

Tommorow's her birthday, I think; if the records are accurate. Five years old and she's never had a normal conversation, never not been looked at as anything more than an investment. Tomorrow is Meridian Hanes' birthday, and I guess Mommy's coming to visit. She doesn't even recognize her mother—not that she recognizes me as her father—that would be something to report, but you understand. She just doesn't know.

Violet doesn't much care. She abhorred my calling the girl by her real name the entire time we were in Hoenn. Maybe she can distance herself from her, but I can't, not when they've got me trapped one hundred miles of open ocean from the nearest land.

Dorian Jr. found out that Violet had volunteered to be the surrogate for Meridian. I can still feel where he punched me. We never even had sex. I don't even remember how they chose me; all I remember is working out of Cerulean and having to goons come visit me at my apartmenr in the middle of the night. I guess he was after my thesis. Why and how that correlates genetically into Meridian, I'll never know. Maybe they just needed a donor, and they had no better lead than me. Pretty shitty reason, if you ask me. I guess Dorian Jr. didn't know about the project, or he'd have been the father. It's always been Violet's pet project anyway.

[Hours pass. Oswald returns with a half a bottle of something strong. His coat is off and his collar is undone; his tie is loose. He is drunk.]

Gotta get out of here, you know? Can't stay here. I'll suffocate, or worse. What do they even want out of this? What are they expecting. When Violet came to me with the idea six years ago, it sounded so obvious; so easy. Was I misled? Was I…distracted?

She never has time for me anymore. Not like there ever was an "us" to begin with, but you'd think with the damn kid, she'd at least look me in the eye or send a card every once in a while. Sometimes I think about her. She's too old for me, of course, but who says I don't like that? If I had a dollar for every time I—.

[The recording cuts to static. Someone has clearly gone back and removed the next several minutes. The static ends. Oswald is crying on the desk. There is a quarter of the bottle left.]

…her legs. What was I saying? Right. Gotta get out. Can't stay here. They know I'm skittish. Who? _They._ Whoever sits down and watches these damn things. I know nothings personal—nothing's private or confidential. For the record, Dorian Silph Jr., you can go fuck yourself.

[Cut to static. Recording resumes approximately seventeen and a half minutes later. Oswald is drenched in sweat.]

Just vomited—thought you'd like to know.

Cerulean is the key; I knew that when I was writing my thesis. There's something about that cave off the cape that we're overlooking. I can't trust them to send anyone else, but I need to see it myself. Never could gain entrance as a student.

Mew and Mewtwo—man and pokemon. I've studied all I can from Dr. Fuji's reports. Not much remain after the fire at Cinnabar and the subsequent volcanic eruption. My report is inconclusive, incomplete. Damn it. Professor Oak found what remained after the eruption, so I guess thanks are in order.

[Oswald raises a mock toast then falls over backwards in his chair, spilling alcohol all over himself.]

Here's to you, old man. No one's even seen Mew for chirssakes. We only know its real for sure because we keep finding DNA everywhere that we couldn't have if it were not real. You get what I'm saying don't you, Diary?

Don't even get me started on Mewtwo. They say Team Rocket had their hands in some shady cookie jars with that shit, but Silph seems content to plunder the same desserts.

[Several minutes pass as Oswald laughs and hiccoughs.]

I guess Mew just doesn't want to be found. Can't blame him. We're terrible. Meridian keeps looking up at the sky at night. Don't know what the hell she's looking for. Hell, the splicing machine was so old and inefficient, I don't know if she's more me or Mew. Guess that's how it goes. All I hope for her is that she's more me than Violet. The world could do without another Silph.

[Something distracts Oswald. He places the bottle in front of the camera, obstructing view. For fourteen minutes, there is silence. He returns and pours another drink.]

False alarm. Something tripped the sensor. Maybe something, probably nothing. I'll check it out in the morning. My eyes hurt. Maybe I drank too much. Whatever. Gotta prepare for Violet tomorrow. Gotta prepare. Gotta look…

"Daddy?"

[The microphone catches the soft mewling of a child from outside the shot. Oswald's hand's tremble. He drops the glass which shatters on the floor. He runs from view of the camera. Cut to static. When the recording resumes, it is almost morning. Oswald has changed into cleaner clothes. His eyes are red and baggy. He neglected to shave.]

Violet's on her way. She'll want results. I'll just tell the truth—there's nothing to report. She'll hate that.

Need to get out of here. Can't stay much longer. After you finish parsing through all this recordings, you'll know what I plan to do. I can't stay with Silph for much longer. I need to get me and Meridian out of here; make it Hoenn or Johto. Can't stay here forever. Can't let them take her away from me.

[There is a buzzer from behind the man. Oswald inhales, straightens out his shirt and coat, and stares into the camera once more.]

"That's her."

[He places a hand on the camera before standing and leaving. **END RECORDING**.]


	41. Part 31: R&D

[10:00 AM. Silph Co. Research and Development Center. Mossdeep City. Four days after Johto Independence.]

The helicopter banked in on the morning breeze.

From the back, Dorian Silph Jr. lazily stared out the window. His Liepard slinked over and nestled itself in between his crossed legs. The pilot crackled over the radio. "Mossdeep City in view. Right on schedule." The helicopter adopted a shallow holding pattern.

Silph watched the buildings and people grow in size as they approached the complex on the outskirts of the city. Silph Co. had poured billions into expanding the small island into a rather large chunk of land. The complex stretched from the easternmost coast to the inland. They had repossessed the space center and refurbished it. Mossdeep was unrecognizable from the Mossdeep of decades ago. "Crobat One to tower. Come in tower. Requesting you disable the magnetic shield."

"We read you Crobat One. Transmit clearance codes for deactivation of the magnetic shield."

The pilot flipped several switches and inputted a command into the console. "Transmitting codes now."

There was silence on the radio for a brief moment. "Commencing deactivation of the magnetic shield. You may begin your descent, Crobat One."

The pilot brought the Helicopter in low to the landing pad. The static in Silph's headphones disappeared as the magnetic field dissipated.

"Thank you, tower. Approaching Landing Pad Three. Crobat One to Landing Pad Three: roll out the red carpet."

"Roger that, Crobat One. Welcome home, Mr. Silph."

The helicopter flew in low to the landing pad. Silph adjusted his suit and gave his Liepard a reassuring scratch behind the ears. "I know you hate flying."

They touched town on the pad, sending dust flying as the massive propellers spun down. Silph removed his headset and set it down next to him. The pilot exited first and opened the massive bay doors. Light flooded the inside of the helicopter. Silph shielded his eyes for a brief moment to let the adjust then stepped out onto the landing pad. Liepard jumped out infront of him and stretched in the sun.

He was greeted by several rows of men in navy blue uniforms standing at attention. The stood motionless like statues. Silph adjusted his sleeves and checked his belt for his pokeballs. A man with a red bar on the lapel of his uniform stood in between the rows, hands folded behind his back. He swallowed nervously.

"Mr. Silph."

The officer extended his hand. Silph gripped it in a crushing shake. Silph continued to walk down the pad, and the officer followed.

"Welcome back, Mr. Silph. Everything is proceeding optimally. The newest barracks have just been completed. The latest batch of recruits just shipped in from Kanto arrived a few days before you."

Silph gave a small smile. "Make sure you welcome them properly, Carter"

"Of course, sir," Carter said. Liepard glared at the man. "You have several appointments at the gym, sir; the League requests you reopen the gym so that the challenge may continue. They said—"

"I have no interest in the Hoenn League. If they wish to speak to me, they may come in person, not through some intermedirary."

"Yes, of course, sir. Also, a man arrived just this morning. We didn't have him on the schedule but he had special clearance from Saffron. It all checked out, so we let him in."

"Where is he now?"

Carter checked a small tablet. "Currently, he is waiting in the sitting room to your office."

"Have him transferred to a holding cell. Can't let him get the wrong idea."

Carter gave a two finger point and a couple of the men at attention broke rank and headed toward the main complex. "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"Not at the moment. I need to meet with this man. Ensure that we are not interrupted, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

Silph walked in through the imposing steel doors to the main facility. Everything was dull steel grey. The fluorescent lights shone like a hospital as he walked through the corridors. He made his way to the holding cells. The two men who had been in line were now standing attention at the door.

"Leave us," Silph said.

The two men bowed and made their exit. Silph pressed a palm to the reader on the door and it slid noiselessly open. An older man sat at the far end of the cell in a chair next to a plain metal table. He was graying, and his eyes were a piercing steel. He was dressed immaculately. The only thing off about the man was his jaw; where it should be, there was an iron plate from his neck to his upper lip. It looked welded shut. Silph took a seat opposite the man.

"Gillian Stone, of the Rustboro Stones. Billionaire investor, steel mogul…" Silph chuckled. "Convicted terrorist, mass murderer, and enemy of the state." He opened his arms in mock hospitality. "Welcome. I trust the flight over was pleasant enough?"

The man said nothing.

"Forgive me; I almost forgot." Silph produced a small device from his pocket. He pressed the center button. "You should find that your vocabulator is working properly now. I apologize for my absentmindedness."

"This was not part of the plan." Gillian's voice was mechanic and hollow; parsed through the vocabulator he sounded more machine than man. To any other man, the voice would have been a threatening groan of machinery. The pitch of his voice was such that the man always seemed perennially agitated.

"On the contrary, Mr. Stone. This was the plan from the beginning."

"Losing was part of your plan?"

"Yes." SIlph's voice was even; it conceded nothing. He was in control. This was his facility—his men, his accomplisdment. The cyborg was of little consequence to him.

"Was this part of your plan?" Gillian pointed to his steel jaw.

"That—that was not explicitly part of the plan. However, I believe it falls squarely under the operating costs of the plan. You're lucky to be out of Kanto at all, aren't you?"

"I trade on cell for another."

Silph ignored him. "Restoring you to any sort of functional level was no small cost to us, I hope you understand me, Stone."

"How was I to know the kickboxer would fly off the handle?"

"Perhaps because she believed you and your companions to be behind the most heinous terrorist attack in the history of the world? Does that ring a bell?"

"We had nothing to do with the bombs."

"Of course; not any more than by proxy."

"Your partner promised us Indigo Plateau."

Silph folded his hands. He stared at the man, at least twenty years his senior. "My 'partner' promised you the opportunity, if I recall. You merely had to seize the opportunity. Which you failed."

"I was told by the League that all the others had perished."

"Not before serving their purpose."

Gillian radiated animosity. Silph took it in stride; there was nothing the man could do to him here in Silph's territory.

"So I'm a glorified pawn, is that it?"

"The short of it yes."

"And what's the long of it?"

"How would you like a second chance?"

Gillian softened slightly. He did not hear-or chose not to-the backhanded swipe from Silph. "I'm listening."

"The situation back home is quite…tumultuous, as you may have guessed. Things are in motion. I would like to extend an invitation for you to join our little operation as a more…permanent member."

"What could you offer me?"

"Besides your undeserved freedom and augmentation, I can offer you Mistress Gaap."

If he could have; Gillian would have broken into a crooked smile from ear to ear.

"Enjoy your stay in Mossdeep City, Mr. Stone. I will have you transferred to more suitable accommodations before we discuss the details of your employment.

Silph stood and turned to leave; with his hand on the door, he paused. "I would warn you that failure is not an option this time. Do not make me regret this, Stone. Grayson is less forgiving than I am.

Gillian swallowed as he watched Silph leave the cell.


	42. Part 32: Big Game Hunting

[2:10 PM. Vermillion City Warehouse District. Vermillion City. The same day.]

Nothing could have prepared Kai for this.

Aid was slow in coming. With the turmoil in Tohjo, the League's gaze was directed squarely at Blackthorn, the new capitol of the independent Johto. Every day since the bombings in Celadon, Kai had petitioned Indigo Plateau for more help. Reconstruction efforts were slowly coming together as volunteers and government workers came together to rebuild Celadon. Every morning, a fleet of buses came in from Celadon and carted volunteers from the Diaspora and Vermillion, and every night they drove them back.

There was still the issue of where these poor people would live.

And it was that conundrum that brought Kai into a meeting with an older man. The man was in his mid-fifties, graying hair that was covered most times by a brown hat. He wore a slim and fashionable coat. He also carried with him a brand new leather briefcase. The man was short a limb since the last time Kai had seen him. He tried not to stare.

"Mr. Grayson." Kai extended a hand to shake, conscious of the implied bodily tension and irony.

"Master Kai, don't mind the arm. I never much used it anyway."

Kai forced a polite laugh. "Hardly noticed."

Grayson took a sip of water from a cool glass that rested on Kai's desk. Something about the man set Kai on edge. Ian would always vouch for him, though, and he trusted Ian.

"Go on; ask me how I lost it."

Kai took the bait. "Alright, how did you lose it?"

Grayson broke into a wicked smile beneath his well trimmed moustache. The creases in his face disappeared into the totality of his smile.

"Big game hunting."

"You picked an odd time to take up such a hobby," Kai mused. Grayson gave a grandfatherly turn of face, his eyes and chin pointed downward as he let out a chuckle. "It's always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Sometimes you snare the Garchomp…"

"And sometimes the Garchomp snares you," Kai finished.

Grayson shrugged, the armless sleeve of his coat shuffled from the ghost limb. "That's the thrill of the game."

"I'm surprised at your quick recovery time, to be honest."

Grayson finished the water and gave a satisfied noise. "I've lived through worse. Though I doubt you expected an explanation of my hobbies when I contacted you for this meeting."

Kai watched the man's demeanor change from playful to serious mid thought. Grayson's eyes were sharp and focused on Kai. Few people made him feel so small, but Kai felt miniscule under his glare. "No, I did not. Though, I always can find time for a representative of Silph Co.—especially one who comes with such high recommendation; your company has been very kind to Vermillion in the past."

"My employer would like to continue and build on that relationship, Master Kai. Silph Co. is offering you respite from your extra personage."

"Go on."

Grayson crossed his legs at the ankle and draped his good arm over his lap. "Silph Co. will build a colony of sorts for the displaced outside Vermillion and Celadon. There, those who are working on restoration will be able to easily commute to and from their various construction sites. Silph Co. will provide all the man power and funds required for the project."

"So they will be building a city while they rebuild the city?"

"A city is an apt description, Master Kai. We would, in essence, be building a city. The only stipulation is that it will be governed by Silph Co."

Kai furrowed his brow. "That doesn't seem legal."

"Neither was the bombing of Celadon. We have tried since the bombings to contract our services to Indigo Plateau. So far we have received no word on our offer. Pride is a nasty sin. However, my employer has a massive personal fortune. This project would come directly from his own pocket. Should the League ever take us up on our offer, we would put the full might of Silph Co. behind the restoration. Until then, my employer would like to help out in any way he can."

Kai thought for a moment. On the one hand, the offer seemed too good to be true, on the other, there was no other viable option to his dilemma. The people of Vermillion—his people—were already beginning to complain about the excess strain, and the displaced were growing restless; honest work might take their mind off them.

"You don't have to give me an answer today—though, I would most certainly appreciate it—I plan on staying in the area a bit longer to do some sightseeing for my employer."

He stood from his chair and shook hands with Kai once more. "These are how I like my meetings, Master Kai: short and sweet."

"I hope your stay in Vermillion is productive. I can provide more hospitable lodging for you, if you would prefer."

"I'd like that. Someplace near the hospital. Sometimes the stump likes to pitch a fit." He gave a smile that Kai nervously reciprocated.

"I'll notify the hospital that they will be receiving an honored guest."

Grayson collected his things. "And a gracious host you are. Ian had good taste in friends, I see."

_Had._

"Mr. Grayson—"

"Just Grayson will do, Master Kai."

"Grayson," Kai continued, "I know Ian went up to the League for the Tohjo Summit. With what I'm told about what happened at the Indigo Plateau—I'm worried. You know him probably better than I do; do you know what became of Ian Silph?"

Grayson turned from the door. "Killed, I was told."

Kai sunk into his chair as he watched the man with the briefcase leave the office with an air of formality.


End file.
